Jackie Boy
by Merianon
Summary: In which Jack Kline does not turn out to be an evil little menace. Season 12 finale fix-it / Season 13 AU. Officially, the first chapter is a standalone; read the later chapters if you want to (it's essentially crack treated seriously). Part 11: It's the end, but a story is never really over, is it? Edit Date: [06/23/2019]
1. Jackie Boy

**Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Supernatural**_ **–** **if I did that crazy season finale wouldn't have happened like that. And I have to give my little sister credit for the title of this story because I wasn't coming up with anything, and then she was like "just call it this"... And so I did.**

 **Edit Note: Also, for late-comers, please remember that this was originally written before Season 13 and after ever came out. While I am editing this as later seasons are coming out, I'm not changing how these characters were originally portrayed in _this_ fic. Therefore, if some (namely Jack) doesn't seem like the canon version... well, that's because he really isn't.**

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 **Jackie Boy**

Jack smiled at Sam Winchester. At least, he was pretty sure he was smiling. This was the first time he'd ever smiled after all. Was he doing it wrong? Sam looked scared. Was that the right word – scared?

Now Jack felt… Curiosity? Concern? Confusion? He wasn't completely sure this time. He was only born barely ten minutes ago after all. But he knew what emotions were. Just like how Jack knew lots of other things.

Jack was half human and half archangel. Kelly Kline was his mother, and Lucifer was the one who helped sire him. Jack did not have a typical soul – he had one that consisted of both soul and grace. A grace-soul, or soul-grace… He could figure out which one sounded better later.

Right now, Jack had to go find Castiel. Castiel was the one Jack had chosen to be his father. Castiel would be excellent in this role. Jack believed in the angel to do the right thing and teach Jack what the right thing was. Kelly had thought so too.

But… something wasn't right. Jack should have been able to feel Castiel like he had when he was still unborn.

Jack frowned, which – he noted – made Sam take a step back. He let his golden grace faded from his eyes, allowing them to return to their blue-gray hue (like his mother's eye color). He felt… offended? Yes, offended. Why was Sam afraid of him?

Then it dawned on Jack. _Oh, right…_ Jack was technically Lucifer's son. And there was that human saying: like father, like son. But Jack didn't want to be like Lucifer. Lucifer had hurt Jack's mother. Lucifer had done a lot of other terrible things if he understood what he knew correctly. Lucifer was an ass-butt. Jack didn't like his archangelic sire at all.

That was why he'd had his grace open up that portal thing— so that Sam and Dean and Castiel might trap Lucifer on the other side.

Had Castiel been trapped on the other side when Jack closed the portal? Was that why he couldn't feel the angel? But no, Jack had felt Castiel come back through the portal just after Sam and Dean…

Lucifer had killed Castiel.

Barely twelve minutes into his life and Jack had already lost both of his parents. Both had died _because of him_.

No! Jack refused to let something as trivial as death take his family from him!

While Jack couldn't bring back his mother – Jack's birth had taken a toll on her soul, and Heaven was a good place (she would be happy there, right?) –, Jack could bring back Castiel. He had to. If he could make everything in that future he showed Castiel come true, then he could bring Castiel back from death.

Jack stood suddenly, startling Sam once more, but Jack didn't take offense this time. He was focused on finding Castiel's vessel. It would be a simple matter to heal the body, and then Jack would just have to figure out how to recreate Castiel's essence. How hard could it be? Jack's Grandfather could do it.

Jack was almost out of the house when he remembered about clothes. He was still naked, wasn't he? Maybe that was why Sam had looked away as Jack passed by. What did people his age wear anyways? Jack wasn't sure how old he looked right then, but he knew he didn't look fifteen minutes old. Kelly had influenced how old he would be after he was born. The world wasn't safe for a baby or a child; therefore, he would have to grow up fast. And so, he had.

Jack willed a loose black sweater and pants onto himself along with some shoes to protect his feet from the rocks he saw outside. He didn't think it was that the weather was too cold, but Sam had been wearing a jacket so the sweater would just have to do. Jack hoped that what he was wearing would be appropriate.

It didn't take Jack long to find Dean kneeling over Castiel's body, the shadow of wings scorched into the ground. The scene pulled at something in his chest— his heart? Was this pain? He couldn't find anything wrong with his body. Was it an inner sort of pain then?

"Dean Winchester," Jack said roughly. Oh. So that was what it was like to talk. Amazing.

Said human's head whipped around so fast that Jack was surprised Dean's neck didn't snap. There was a malice in the man's eyes as well as grief and shock. Castiel and Dean had been close. The Winchesters considered Castiel a brother. Jack briefly wondered if that made Sam and Dean his 'uncles', or would they become close enough for Jack to call them his other 'fathers' alongside Castiel? It was possible to have multiple unrelated parents, wasn't it?

"I'll ask you once to please move," he continued before Dean could respond. "After that, you'll just be in my way."

Jack was pleased to watch as a series of broken thoughts raced through Dean's head. That meant the human was listening to him at the very least. It didn't look like Dean was going to move, but then, begrudgingly, the human shifted off to the side. Jack quickly took the spot where Dean had been mourning Castiel.

"Will you go make sure you and your brother both stay inside? I don't know if watching this will hurt either of you. Father wouldn't want that," Jack said softly.

Jack felt the rage consume Dean before the Winchester exploded at him. "Your father-? Your dad killed my best friend! Your dad is the reason we were ever in this mess!"

"I accept none as my father except for Castiel, angel of the Lord," Jack cut in hotly, eyes flashing a light gold. "I might be the bastard child of Lucifer, but I refuse to call him my family."

That stopped Dean in his tracks. Jack didn't say anything wrong. He had spoken those words from his heart. He spoke his truth. Castiel would have liked that.

"Now, please," Jack started again after a moment, his voice once again taking a soft tone. "Go inside with Sam. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

Jack waited until he heard the door close and footsteps pound up the stairs before he placed his hands over the stab wound that marred Castiel's body. Jack had seen death before. He had seen the reaper that had taken his mother to Heaven. He had been the one to make her more comfortable during the last few seconds of her life and fold her hands over her stomach once she had passed. He had even seen death in his visions.

Why was death such a peaceful looking thing if it caused so much pain?

Jack made quick work of the wound. It took barely even a thought. Trying to bring Castiel back took more than that though. Jack's face scrunched in concentration, and the light of his grace-soul filled the area, continually growing brighter and brighter.

He wasn't sure what finally made it work, but soon enough Jack was thrown flat on his back several feet away. When he opened his eyes, he got his first look at the stars. They were beautiful, awesome. But not nearly as wonderful as the sound of Castiel slowly regaining consciousness.

A smile broke out upon Jack's lips. "Father!" he cried as he threw himself onto Castiel, wrapping his arms around the angel in what he knew was supposed to be a hug.

He marveled at the sensation of _warmth_ that flooded his senses. He felt _safe_ like this. The sound of Castiel's steadily beating heart was music to Jack's ears. Jack knew that anywhere Castiel was would be a home for Jack. He had seen that. That was most often what he saw – the end results. The path getting there always came out distorted and choppy, but that just meant there was leeway to whatever path was taken. And Jack was fine with ending up like this.

Castiel tensed underneath the contact, but once he recognized the power next to him, he relaxed and returned the awkwardly positioned embrace. "Jack?" he asked hesitantly.

The boy nodded eagerly. The mere fact that Castiel had recognized him made Jack's grace-soul do joyous spins and twirls inside of him. "See, Father? I can do it. I brought you back!"

Several emotions flitted across Castiel's face, and Castiel was about to respond when Sam and Dean burst out of the house. "Cas!" they both shouted in unison.

Jack sighed at their arrival, reluctantly releasing Castiel from his hug, and got himself seated comfortably next to the angel. He would have to wait until he could be with Castiel more privately. But he could be patient. He had waited this long already. What was a few more hours, potentially days?

"Go," Jack told Castiel with a slight nudge to the angel's side. "I'm fine. Talk to them. They're worried."

His last statement was an understatement. Jack could feel the stress and a messy concoction of other emotions radiating off of the Winchesters. Were most humans like these two? It didn't seem that way when he had been unborn, but he could have been wrong. He found it slightly frustrating that even after all of his time with his mother he didn't understand humans yet.

And he was half human, so what did that make of him? He knew that Nephilim were abominations, according to the angels – but Castiel hadn't killed Kelly and therefore him. So Jack couldn't be _bad_ , could he?

Perhaps there was the potential for evil, but that wasn't genetic. At least, Jack didn't think it was. And it wasn't like people were inherently good or inherently evil. There was a gray area to things. That was what his mom had been rambling to him about a couple weeks ago anyway. But didn't that mean that Lucifer wasn't technically all evil..?

Ugh, this was all so horribly confusing.

Jack pouted at the thoughts. He shouldn't be thinking about that yet. He put the thoughts under the Let Castiel Explain Later section of questions in his mind. Maybe Sam and Dean would be able to help Jack understand it too.

Jack pushed himself away from the sudden hand in front of his face. He made a discontented look at the hand before looking up to its owner. What did Dean want?

"You," the human started, jabbing a finger of the same hand at him. "You can control the portal you made, right?"

Jack blinked. Of course he could, but why would Dean be asking about the portal? Jack looked to Castiel for a moment before repeating his thought aloud to Dean and adding, "I don't recommend opening it again. I only opened it in the first place so you could trap Lucifer over there—"

"Yeah, well now our mom is stuck there, too," Dean snapped.

Jack's next thoughts died with the shock that ran through him. That nice lady was trapped with Lucifer? Lucifer would kill her just on the grounds of trying to keep him away from Jack. But obviously Mary Winchester had only partially succeeded in trapping _only_ Lucifer if she had been dragged through the portal with him, which made it all the more likely that Lucifer would shred her to pieces.

Jack got up to his feet, determined to fix this. "How long ago did she enter the portal? An exact time, please."

"Two hours, thirty-seven minutes," Sam answered, looking down at his watch, right before Dean asked, "Why?"

"Because if I can open a portal right as the other one closed, then I should be able to pull your mother back to this side and close the portal I'm about to make before Lucifer can do anything to her," Jack explained, mentally keeping track of the time as he moved to where he could feel the residuals of the older portal.

Jack heard Castiel begin to continue the explanation as he focused on the alternate universe he wanted to access. Opening the portal hadn't been anywhere near as hard as it had been for Jack to bring Castiel back. The hardest part would be to open the portal, grab Mary Winchester and close it before Lucifer could follow.

That took precision – an accuracy that Jack didn't have with Dean's demanding voice berating his eardrums. The single thought shut Dean up. Jack would give him his voice back once he was done.

Jack raised his right hand out in front of him, centering the power of his grace-soul in his hand. With one fell swoop, Jack cut a hole in space-time. A bright, crackling rift came into being, beckoning passage and casting light onto a metal object on the ground.

"Stay here," Jack ordered, phasing Castiel's blade into a pocket dimension after a split-second decision, and then he stepped through.

Lucifer had been about to lay his hands on Mary when Jack knocked the archangel back with a blast of power. The nephilim put himself between his sire and the Winchesters' mother, keeping an eye on the archangel as he carefully pushed Mary towards the portal. When he felt her resist, he turned to face her.

"Go," he urged, once again pushing her in the direction of the slowly shrinking portal.

"You..." she whispered.

"We can meet and greet later— Now, go," he insisted more harshly. They were running out of time.

"Jack!"

Mary's warning had him spinning back around and catching the wrist of the arm that was milliseconds away from causing him harm. Jack grimaced at the force behind the blow he had just barely caught. He felt himself being pushed back an inch, and he glance warily at the fisted hand that was centimeters away from his face before looking back to his sire's face.

"Not a very good first impression, _Dad_ ," Jack spat, eyes blazing that light-gold color of his grace-soul.

Red met gold. Some of that force pushing at him lessened, but Jack refused to let his guard down. "Son—"

"Don't," Jack cut him off coldly, steeling his voice. "You're not my father, and you won't _ever_ be my father. Not here. Not now. Not with the way you are."

Something changed in those eyes that stared Jack down. But Jack didn't let Lucifer act on whatever it was. An angel blade – glowing slightly from being infused with some of Jack's grace-soul – slipped down from Jack's sweater sleeve, and he rammed it into Lucifer's gut. The archangel let out a gasp and stumbled back when Jack pushed Lucifer off of him.

"That was for killing Castiel," he exclaimed.

Jack then ripped the blade out and shoved it into the side of Lucifer's neck. "That was for my mother." Blood gushed from the wound when Jack pulled it back out.

"And this," Jack hissed as he shoved the blade into Lucifer's heart, "is for everything you were going to do to me." Gold eyes blazed with fury. "I can see the _future_ , you ass! Think about that when you finally figure out how to be a good parent!"

Jack waited until Lucifer dropped to his knees to kick him in the face, knocking him back onto the ground. Jack pulled the blade out once more, but this time he left Lucifer be. It wouldn't do to leave the blade here. Castiel would probably want it back.

He looked up and turned when Mary called his name. She was standing next to the portal waiting for him. With one last glance back to Lucifer, Jack hurried over, gesturing for her to go first. She left in a flash of light.

Something tugged on his sweater's sleeve, and he looked down to see a miniscule cloud of red smoke clinging to the fabric. A demon, he quickly realized, pausing. But not one of this universe's demons. Its red color meant it was a crossroads demon…

Jack frowned as he debated on whether or not to leave it here. It didn't _feel_ malicious to him, and he could see the bright spot of pure soul in its core. It wouldn't be right to let something already on the path to redemption here in this hellhole. After a slight gesture to assure it that he wasn't going to hurt it, Jack cupped the demon in the palm of his hand and held it close to him so it wouldn't get lost when they crossed back over to their universe.

"I will find you."

Jack tensed at Lucifer's deadly tone but didn't turn around. Instead, he stepped through the portal and closed it behind him.

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 **A/N: So** **this little plot bunny just came to me because I didn't want Jack to be the bad guy of season 13 [** which he wasn't, but I didn't know it at the time **]. It would just feel too close to season 11 with Amara, and that season 12 ending was way out there – my scattered mind needed me to come up with something that would sooth my soul. And this is what resulted from that.**

 **And to be honest, Jack's character might be a little off [** more or less OOC according to current cannon... or even his own character **], but that was because I wasn't entirely sure how to characterize him as I was typing this out. Like, I was trying to take into account that Jack would only be, you know, a few minutes old at the beginning and then a few hours near the end. However, I feel like Jack was kinda sentient during his time as an unborn child in Kelly's womb. So I had it to where he knows things and whatnot, but he's not completely sure what to do with that information. And at the very end with Lucifer… I can't really explain that, but it was mainly to show that while I do have Jack as a 'good guy', he's not 'inherently good' like he was angsting about around the middle. Jack does have a bit of a dark side.**

 **I am open to reviews – constructive criticism is great, but please be polite and don't trash talk me. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this story.**

Edit Note [6/22/19]: Lol, it's been a while (at least a year) since I looked at this, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to a post-editing. To be fair, I've been meaning to come back to this fic and tweak certain representations of characters for a while now.

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 **lucas45:** So I haven't quite gotten to any more real plot with Castiel and Jack, but it's coming soon. I promise. I'm still trying to decide on a fluff-filled or angst-ridden ending.

 **Snovolovac:** I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last!

 **Guest:** Well, Jared and Misha have let it slip that Castiel will be in season 13, so we can only wait (impatiently) to see what's going to happen. Maybe it's too much to hope that it happens in some version that puts Jack that gray area.

 **Daninuyasha:** I wouldn't bet on Jack seeing Sam and Dean as allies right off the bat. You never know – Jack might only put up with them because their friend of Castiel. But the Castiel resurrection is a must.

 **Aini NuFire:** I'm just going to start with that I'm a fan of your works. I had most finished writing Jackie Boy when I read _Ignite Your Bones_ , and I reading your work was what convinced me to post Jackie Boy (along with a slight nudge from my little sister). Regarding Crowley, I have a way of making it to where his being alive will still fit with Mark Sheppard leaving, though personally I would prefer to just give Crowley his meatsuit back.

 **Flying Through Clouds:** Ever since the whole Nephilim crisis began, I was complaining to my mom (who loosely follows the show) about whether or not I was rooting for Jack to be good or evil – the main point being if Jack will be another Amara, which would be very 'been there done that' to me. Though, I'm still not sure about Jack's age. His actor, Alexander Calvert, is like 26 according to Wikipedia, but I guess he looks like he could be in his late teens.

 **cyenthia 30:** The way you just trailed off without finishing your thought…

 **KyatsRani:** I swear, I will further explore how Jack managed to beat Lucifer. Pinky promise. And really, my main reason for bringing Mary back was to help get Jack on Sam and Dean's good side. Only Chuck knows what putting Jack on their bad side would do. As for Crowley, I couldn't let my favorite King of Hell stay dead.

 **Alkaline:** I haven't gotten any cookies lately, but my dad did bake brookies the other day. Even Gabriel would have a hard time resisting that dessert.

 **JocelynVG:** Looks like I'll be writing a bit more for this work. Hello from the US of A!

 **Avenage99: "** Far superior", huh? Okay, Mr. Flatterer, I know you love my stories and that you've finally caught up on all 12 seasons, but you've got to expand your horizons beyond just me. There are a lot of other amazing fanfiction authors out there – _Aini NuFire_ (another reviewer to this fic) is just one of them, and her friend _29Pieces_ is another, and _monkeygirl77_ is the person you go to for all the fluffy feels and tickle fic, and I know several more who have written fics that stab you right in the feels – and I haven't even mentioned other fandoms.  
Point is… there's more than just me. Go check out other people, and if you still really, really like my works, then that's cool. Your appreciation is appreciated.

 **Beachwishen:** … I will see what I can do. (And now Crowley has a new vessel, though probably not what you were expecting – not what Dean's going to be expecting either when he eventually finds out).

 **charmedfan120:** Great review ;-)


	2. Look Through My Eyes

**Precursor Note: Hmm... I'm not completely pleased with how I ended this 'chapter', but you people wanted me to continue it, so here's this. And no, I'm not quite done yet. I guess I'll be filling in a few of the plot holes I left in the next chapter, but for now, here's a filler.**

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 **Look Through My Eyes**

Jack exited the portal, willing it shut as soon as he stepped foot on his universe's ground. He was relieved to find Mary hugging Sam and Dean. Castiel was waiting off to the side. There was a slight smile on his face directed at him.

That made Jack look down shyly, his face heating up. Was that normal? Was he sick? Wait, no. People sometimes blushed at things in a form of embarrassment or shame, though the embarrassment part could have been related to a good thing – like an unexpected compliment. Yeah, that's what it was. He was blushing. But why–?

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden poke from inside his cupped hand. Jack raised an eyebrow at that. This demon was impatient, wasn't it? But then again, patience was a virtue and demons didn't have virtues, so the demon being impatient made sense, and Jack really should have expected as such.

Still, he didn't open his hand for the demon. He should probably wait until he knew the demon would be safe before he did that. That might take a while. In any case, Jack gave the demon essence a wave a reassurance through his grace-soul along with his thoughts on when he would let the demon go. The demon quieted at that.

Castiel moved closer to Jack, and Jack looked back up. Sheepishly, he held out the blade he had borrowed. "Sorry I took it without asking," Jack mumbled.

"What did you do with it?" Castiel asked curiously as he took the blade back, noting the wet blood on its tip.

"He stabbed Lucifer three times," Mary answered in a quiet but sure voice. "Then he kicked Lucifer in the face and walked away."

Both Sam and Dean gave Jack a look for a brief moment, and the boy felt his face heating up again. This time he knew exactly why – he didn't like the feeling of being judged. Even if this instance was only because Sam and Dean were reevaluating their opinion of him, Jack just didn't like that look. It made him feel like they weren't seeing him for who he was even while he felt completely exposed.

Then the moment passed, and Sam shifted on his feet. "Can you, uh, give Dean his voice back?"

"Oh... yeah, um..." Jack walked over to Dean and lifted his free hand to touch Dean's throat but hesitated when his hand was only an inch away from Dean.

Jack looked into Dean's green eyes, waiting for permission. He hadn't done that when he had taken Dean's voice away, and he was planning on apologizing as soon as Dean could respond. But right now, Jack was letting Dean gain some control back by _letting_ Jack give back his voice and not just have this forced upon him.

 _Free Will._ The ability to choose what happens, to be able to make your own path. That was what Castiel and Sam and Dean had fought for seven years ago (long before Jack's birth) and continued fighting for practically every day. Jack didn't want to destroy something so precious.

Dean seemed to understand why Jack was hesitant and slowly nodded. So maybe Dean didn't completely trust Jack – didn't know the nephilim enough for that level of intimacy – but this was a small step towards a future, positive relationship. A firm holding in Jack's establishment on the side of those who do what's right.

A wave of exhaustion hit Jack right after he finished fixing Dean's vocal cords. Eyelids drooping, he swayed on his feet and collapsed into Castiel's waiting arms. It was getting hard to keep his eyes open. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to use so much energy before, during and after he was born.

"Rest, Jack," he heard Castiel whisper in his ear. "I imagine we'll be on our way to a very safe place, and it's a long ride there..."

Jack was asleep before Castiel finished his sentence.

— **o–O–o** —

There was something lying on top of him, covering him. It was comfortable, warm, familiar. Jack was also lying on top of something – equally comfortable, warm and familiar.

Light blue-gray eyes blearily opened and closed again right before Jack let out a yawn. He curled himself into a ball, pressing himself closer to the warmth he was resting on and not particularly wanting to wake up yet. He was still tired.

A hand lightly brushed across his forehead, and he scrunched his nose at the touch that threatened to fully waken him. When the hand repeated the action, Jack swatted at it with his own hand. A deep chuckle resounded in the chest beneath him.

Jack opened his eyes at that. Light momentarily blinded him, and he let out a groan at the sharp phantom pain that stabbed him in the eyes. The shadow of a face filled his vision as Castiel leaned over him, blocking the irritating sunlight. Staring up at Castiel, Jack observed the ring of light that seemed to form a halo around Castiel's head.

"Well, look who's finally up," Dean commented from the front seat, glancing back at Jack and Castiel in the rear-view mirror. "Have a nice first nap, Sleeping Beauty?"

Jack made to sit up, but with the way he was laying on Castiel and the way Castiel's trench coat was on top of him _and_ with Mary on the other side of the car seat, he realized it would have been ridiculous to get up. So Jack stayed where he was. He was comfortable anyways.

"What's a sleeping beauty?" he asked, the words coming out slightly slurred as he rubbed his eyes. It was like his eyelids were being weighed down by something heavy, and he was trying to make the feeling go away.

A short bark of laughter came from the front of the car, but it wasn't Dean who laughed. " _She_ is a fairy tale character who was placed under an eternal sleeping curse, which could only be broken by true love's kiss," Sam explained. "There are different versions of the story, but most end with her waking up."

"Oh..." Jack felt like he should have known that.

Looking out the window, he saw greenery fly past, and if he looked up, there was nothing but blue. Castiel, taking notice of Jack's curiosity, began pointing out and naming things. Like the Sun – a big bright ball of burning gas located in space far, far away from the Earth that gave light to the world, making up the day portion of the twenty-four hours of what was also called a day; the other portion being night, like it had been when Jack was born.

As the information filled hour passed, several clouds came into view, and Castiel told Jack about all the different types of clouds. The ones that had they had seen were cumulus clouds. Jack asked if he could touch one but was disappointed when he was told that because clouds were made up of tiny droplets of water and dust, his hand would simply pass through the cloud if he tried to touch it. He had thought it would have been really soft since it looked so fluffy.

Sam sometimes joined in on the informational tales Castiel was telling Jack. Sam answered all of Jack's questions about the things and places they were passing. Like the railroads and how they were currently on an asphalt highway, which allowed for Dean to drive his car for a long time in the direction of where they wanted to go.

When Jack asked about the car they were traveling in, Castiel and Sam went silent. At first Jack thought he had brought up something he wasn't supposed to, but then Dean answered him, which Jack hadn't been expecting since Dean hadn't spoken a word to him ever since Jack woke up. But Dean didn't sound like he was wary of Jack as he told him about the Impala (Dean's Baby), and Jack considered that a good thing.

It was when Jack began to get restless, squirming in his spot, and unable to resist the urge to move anymore, that Mary kindly offered the suggestion of Jack being able to stretch out into the area where Mary was sitting if he needed to. But Jack didn't really want to invade on her space. While he did like her (as she was nice to his mother and tried to help her and kind of therefore him too), she had been quiet the entire time Jack had been awake, silently staring out the window.

Jack didn't think that she didn't like him, per say, because of this but instead thought that it had more to do with all of the weird thoughts floating around in her head. It hadn't been unreasonable for Jack to conclude that she had a lot on her mind. However, what Jack didn't know was that quite of few of those 'weird thoughts' were actually about him.

Let it be known that while Jack did know a lot more than any his age (not even a day yet), he was neither omniscient nor omnipresent and did not, in fact, understand even half of what he knew. During Jack's visions of the future, he often saw a great many things and remembered all of it, but (again) he didn't understand most of what he saw. There were some things, though, that were very easy to understand and comprehend. And then there was also the time he spent inside his mother's womb, during which he learned most of the things that he did understand.

But now that Jack was out of the womb, he was able to associate words to objects – like the many different _colors_ or the _sky_ or _trees_ or _cars_ and the _road_ _–_ and names to faces that he had finally been able to look at with his own eyes. It was quite the learning experience, and Jack was loving every minute of it. Perhaps he didn't understand everything he knew just yet, but he could feel it in his grace-soul that one day it would all make sense to him.

And so, when Mary gave him an assuring smile, Jack returned a smile of his own. Apparently he had been _smirking_ (and rather creepily too), not smiling, when he first met Sam. There was also another form of smiling called grinning, and Sam had dimples when he smiled. People usually smiled when they laughed, too. Jack liked it when people smiled. Because smiling was associated to happiness, and that was good.

Jack was able to alleviate some of his restlessness as he was then able to move about a bit more, but that didn't last long. Eventually, Dean pulled over at a gas station – a place that Castiel was very informative about – and Castiel was still telling Jack all about them when Sam, Dean and Mary came back to the car after 'taking care of a few things'.

It was safe to say that Jack was startled by the large but flimsy book Dean threw at him. Jack's following indignant, huffing pout had the adults all chuckling. But then Dean held out a box of... Crayons?

The confusion on Jack's face must have been more than obvious because Dean set down the box, took the book and opened it to a random page, revealing the blank drawing of a bird. "Now you can color to your heart's content."

With that, Dean got into the driver's seat and started the car, leaving Jack still confused. But Castiel was there to help him. The angel gently took Jack's open hand and placed a dark brown colored crayon in his hand. Castiel, holding Jack's hand in his own, guided the crayon onto the paper and started lightly coloring the bird's feet.

Jack's eyes widened in delight as he realized what Castiel was doing. Being careful not to let go of the demon still (somehow) in his left hand, Jack picked out a blue crayon and colored in the bird's eyes and began working on the body with a different color. Castiel let go of Jack's hand and let the boy work on filling the rest of the drawing.

Jack became completely engrossed with coloring in all of the different animals that he didn't notice the way he was slowly drifting into the realm of sleep. But Castiel was well aware of the boy's exhaustion and easily maneuvered the boy into a more comfortable position when Jack fell asleep. While Jack had taken a 'power nap' (as Dean had called it), considering that Jack had been born not even a full day ago and spent massive amounts of energy both before and after his birth, Castiel had figured that Jack would still need some rest even with the previous eight hours he had slept.

Castiel had waited in the Impala with Jack while the Winchesters gave Kelly a small hunter's funeral and then proceeded to set the house on fire, giving the fire enough fuel to burn the house to the ground. They didn't want someone or something – who didn't already know about the nephilim – coming across the place where Jack had been born and getting any ideas about hunting down the kid. Not that Castiel would let anyone harm Jack either way.

The first hour on the trip back to the Bunker had been silent, but then Sam spoke up and filled Castiel in on what he knew of the events during the past several hours: trapping Lucifer in the alternate universe, Crowley's self-sacrifice, Castiel's own death, Jack being born, and everything Jack had done up to Castiel's resurrection. Dean affirmed the descriptions Sam had given Castiel with either a yes or a nod while he kept his eyes on the road ahead of them.

Soon after the brothers had finished, Mary inputted what happened when Jack traveled to the alternate universe to rescue her. Both Sam and Castiel – neither of which had heard Jack's proclamation to Dean – looked to Mary with no small amount shock. Castiel hadn't expected for Jack to completely disown himself from Lucifer, nor had he expected the amount of aggression Jack held towards the archangel.

One stab to the stomach, then to the neck, and finally the heart.

What worried Castiel the most was _why_ Jack had felt the need for such violence against his biological father. Another worry that bothered Castiel on a slightly more minor scale was how Jack had been able to overpower Lucifer so quickly.

It wasn't unreasonable to assume that Jack was able to get the first blow in due to arrogance or ignorance on Lucifer's part and then the second blow because of surprise stemming from the first, but Lucifer should have retaliated by the time Jack kicked the archangel in the face – if not by the stab to the heart. Jack had only taken Castiel's blade with him to the alternate universe, which had been proven to be rather ineffective against the archangel. _So... how?_

Jack's violence hadn't disturbed only Castiel. Sam had gained a wary expression while Dean simply frowned. Even with the short amount of time the two had observed Jack, the ferocity the boy had displayed in front of Mary contradicted what they knew of him. In a short glance at each other, Sam and Dean shared their concern about the slight possibility concerning the nephilim's morality.

That look alone tipped Castiel off to the fact that he would have to ask Jack about what happened in that alternate universe – and soon.

Castiel also had half a mind to ask the boy what was in his left hand. The angel felt like he should recognize the presence emanating from said hand, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Whatever it was, it felt… demonic but also not. It concerned Castiel that Jack was more or less hiding it from him, but Castiel also reasoned that it could have been because Jack didn't want to tell Castiel about it in front of the Winchesters.

There were more things that Castiel wanted to ask Jack, but such questions would have to wait until Jack actually woke up. And so, until then, Castiel would just have to be content with watching the boy sleep.

— **o–O–o** —

 _He had been out for a simple stroll around town. Sam had suggested it for whenever he began to get restless from being cooped up in the Bunker for too long. It worked for the most part._

 _He never told his human caretakers that he sometimes went beyond the borders of Lebanon – the furthest he'd ever been was some isolated beach along the west coast. Castiel knew where he went, of course. He didn't like worrying his father._

 _But there was this door – an entrance to a bar. Something had made him stop in front of it._

 _It was dimly lit inside the bar. It was also empty of any customers. There wasn't a bartender either._

 _He was sitting down in one of the booths. A man was across from him. The bar wasn't so empty after all._

 _The man –_ not a man _– was saying something. The words came out more distorted than usual. He could only make out a few of them._

 _"Let_ _—_ _... own Paradise..."_

 _Why? Why should he leave them in struggling to get by? The right thing to do was to help people – especially those who deserved help, the ones who worked for it, who wanted to make themselves better people. He would create a world without suffering, without hunger or povert_ _y—_

 _"... not_ _—_ _... you to make..."_

 _Then who? Who would give them peace? Who woul_ _d—_

 _"... Heaven is for... Paradise... own creation."_

 _The scene changed abruptly. His father was there, carding a hand through his hair as he lay on his bed. Again, words were being spoken, but this time he could hear them clearly. He could always hear Castiel's voice more clearly than any other's during his visions._

 _"It's okay, Jack. It doesn't matter if everything you saw won't come to pass. You always knew it was a possibility, as all the futures you see are. We'll just keep making the world a better place in more subtle ways..."_

 _Like Sam and Dean? Like the other hunters, protectors of good, those who fought evil?_

 _Castiel chuckled a little and nodded. "Yes, but there are more than just hunters that defend the innocent. Humans who have good, pure souls as well as some creatures of the night who wish no harm to others."_

 _He let out a sigh but didn't respond. He understood enoug_ _h—_

 _Once more, the scene changed. But this was different than before._

 _Menacing red irises filled his vision, and he struggled to break away. Hot winds whipped around him, sand scratching at his skin. The image of the wasteland around him was burned into his eyes in a way so that he would never forget what it looked like. Just like how those eyes were burned into his mind._

 _Blood splashed across his face, making him close his eyes or else he'd have been blinded by the red substance. It wasn't his blood, but it ran down his face – marking him, claiming him. Castiel's blade was in his hand, and in a panic he blindly thrust it forward, feeling it sink into flesh._

 _And then it was all gone. Black clouded his sight. But four words haunted his hearing._

 _"I will find you."_

* * *

 **A/N: So I brought up what KyatsRyai mentioned – that Jack beating Lucifer was a bit exaggerated – and (again) the explanation for that is gonna have to be next chapter. It's also kind of been requested that I focus on Castiel and Jack throughout this, but so while the Winchesters are going to be in more in the background than they would be in the show, they will be there because I do want Jack to interact with them.**

Edit Note [6/23/19]: All I really did was polish some grammar things, and add a few details. Really, it was in the first chapter that I did anything to help line things up with canon a bit.

* * *

 **Flying Through Clouds:** Okay, so I might have made Jack know somethings that he really shouldn't understand quite yet, but I needed him to _for plot_. I guess you could say that he doesn't really know, but that conversation was in Castiel's POV, so I suppose you really wouldn't know yourself. Oh, well. I'm confusing myself here. Just… just forget all of that. Yeah.


	3. I'm Not Him

**I'm Not Him**

"Am I a bad person?"

Castiel's eyebrows drew together in a somewhat concerned frown. "What makes you ask that?" he carefully inquired.

Light blue-gray eyes shied away from his own blue gaze as Jack pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging his legs close to himself. The angel moved to sit on Jack's bed, which was in a room Sam and Dean had deemed 'safe enough for the kid to have to himself'. In other words, also safe to the humans, whose rooms were a bit further down the hallway. Castiel had decided to move into the room next to Jack's, so it worked out either way.

Sam, Dean and Mary were all having their own family moment and would probably be a while until they bothered the other two residents in the Bunker. Castiel figured now would be the best time to… get some answers from Jack.

But he hadn't counted on Jack asking a question of his own first.

"I've seen the way they look at me sometimes. Like they're afraid of me— like I'm dangerous," Jack mumbled, drawing into himself even more.

Castiel was at a loss for words. How was he supposed to explain this without causing Jack to doubt himself more than it seemed he was? Castiel had trouble answering the original question when regarding himself. The angel held back a sigh and placed a hand near Jack's bare feet, bringing the boy's attention back to him.

"Give them time. It's only natural for them to feel… nervous of something they don't understand."

It wasn't the best answer he could have given Jack, but it was the only one he could think of that avoided the question for later and would hopefully reassure his charge.

He was subtly reminded of when Jack had woken up in the Impala.

They had finally gotten back to the Bunker, and the humans had been getting out of the car. Jack had suddenly awoken with a scared shout and a small blast of power that had rocked the Impala and slightly pushed the surrounding cars. The golden hue of Jack's grace faded as the boy realized he where he was and whom he was with. Jack had struggled to control his breathing, and Dean had to step in and help Castiel with the hyperventilating child.

The dream ( _nightmare_ , Castiel suspected) was something else he would have to ask Jack about.

Castiel wasn't about to interrogate Jack for answers, but he had the feeling that this wasn't going to be easy on either of them. Still, both he and the Winchesters wanted— no, _needed_ answers.

The angel had never been completely on board with what Kelly had in mind for her child. Castiel wasn't exactly father material, and Jack certainly wasn't an ordinary boy. The fact that Jack had sped up his growth and already had the body of a young man complicated things even more than anticipated. Still, he had wanted to respect her wishes about trying to give Jack as normal of a life as possible, which was looking to be rather futile as of now, and attempted to prepare himself for the role of being a father. He would still try – he wasn't about to break his promise to Kelly.

Castiel was already thinking about taking Jack with him across the country. He could tell that Jack would like that. The boy was simply fascinated with the world around him and loved learning all he could. The main difficulty that came to mind about taking Jack out of the Bunker was keeping him _safe_. There were many things that would want to harm or take advantage of the nephilim.

But first things first.

"Jack…" he started slowly, forming the first question in his mind carefully. "In the other universe, how were you able to take down Lucifer so quickly?"

The boy tensed at the question, those blue-gray eyes shied away from him again. "I just knew," he answered quietly.

"And how did you know?" he asked patiently.

Jack shifted, uncurling and grabbing a pillow to hug before curling up again. Castiel narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Jack pick at the skin around his finger nails and bite down on his bottom lip, worrying it between his teeth. Eventually, light blue-gray eyes flickered back up to meet Castiel's.

"You remember my visions? How I can see the future?" Castiel nodded. "And the one I showed you that one time when you helped me and my mom get away from Dagon?" Another nod. "I didn't always see that future… There were others…"

"Were?" Castiel latched onto the past tense implication.

But Jack just looked down, shrugging. "I heard someone tell me – in one of the visions – that the future is random and full of possibilities. There's only so far that I can see before the likelihood of a specific future becomes less than certain," the boy confessed.

"So the vision you gave Kelly about Dagon..?"

"Went exactly as Mom saw it. I think people call it a self-fulfilling prophecy." Jack continued to fidget, moving his hands to pull at the pillowcase instead of picking at his nails. "Though, I did kind of had to get involved to guarantee its fulfillment. The vision I gave you is… a bit further into the future than I can absolutely assure you will happen. It was just the one that I would like to happen."

Several new questions popped into Castiel's mind, but he hushed them in favor of leading Jack back to Castiel's original question – well, how Jack's visions were able to let him easily incapacitate Lucifer.

The boy's eyes went dark for the barest of moments, but it was long enough for Castiel to catch. And the angel was slightly terrified of that brief flash of darkness. Just what did Jack see for him to know such—

"By the time of my birth, I had seen several futures in which Lucifer managed to take me for himself and raise me. Some I would go along with his plans, but the others I was… less inclined to do as he wanted me to. In the majority with him, I suppose I had a 'rough childhood'— as short as they were," Jack mused.

Castiel inwardly cringed at how old the boy sounded. What happened to the light innocence that he'd held in the car? It was as if Jack had already lived through several lifetimes. Were Jack's visions of the future that vivid, that realistic?

"There was one that he was nice enough to give up being the Devil," Jack continued with the slightest hint of regret in his voice, "but the rest showed me just how unlikely that would come to be. And that's why I figured that the best way to keep any of those futures from even happening was to trap Lucifer in a different universe entirely. It's his fault that he taught me how to fight in at least three variant futures."

Castiel mulled over Jack's words as Jack turned his head to look around for his coloring book. Somehow Jack's answer made Castiel worry even more. How many futures had he seen? How many did he remember? How much did Jack _know_? How was Castiel supposed to—

Jack gave up on trying to locate his coloring book by sight and just summoned it and his crayons to him. Castiel was jerked out of his thoughts by the casual display of power. _That_ was something they were going to have to talk about later. But for now, Castiel let Jack color what looked like a Norwegian Elkhound a golden color (which was a little off as Norwegian Elkhounds were traditionally black, white or even silver/gray in the color of their coats).

Castiel watched Jack flip through the pages to land on a Scottish Terrier and begin coloring this dog in a glossy black with hints of red (for whatever reason) before he spoke up again. "Do you know the extent of your powers?"

Jack paused at that, frowning in thought. Then he shook his head. "I can't rely on my visions in reference to what I can do, but I brought you back so there's a starting point I guess," he extended his answer.

"Hmm… It would seem that you can do a lot, but I think the human part of you requires you to sleep," Castiel observed. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Blue-gray eyes silently conveyed confusion at the question.

Castiel sighed. He had mistakenly assumed that Jack would know of the human needs since he clearly knew about other things. Hopefully he wouldn't forget that Jack was barely a day old within the next few days (weeks and months even).

"Is your body telling you that you need food or water?" he tried to explain.

Jack frowned, his eyes hazing a little as he seemed to look inward. "I… I guess? I'm not sure…" he finally responded, sheepishly.

Well, Castiel supposed it was something. Even if Jack was wrong about needing to eat, Castiel could at least introduce the child to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

— **o–O–o** —

Jack narrowed his eyes at the… television, as Castiel had labeled it ( _so that's_ what the flat black boxes that showed moving pictures were). Castiel was trying to show Jack something called Netflix, or rather a movie that was on Netflix. From what Jack had overheard from Castiel and Sam's hushed conversation, the animated children's movie was titled _Zootopia,_ and it was about a bunny and fox working together to solve a crime. Whatever that meant.

About five minutes into the movie, Jack finally understood the concept of the movie. Nibbling on the last of his PBJ (Castiel was gladdened to know that Jack liked the sandwich), Jack watched as Judy – the bunny who wanted to become a police officer – overcame the typical stereotypes of her species and excelled far past what was expected. And Jack may have startled Castiel when he perked up at the music that started playing as Judy rode the train into the city of Zootopia.

By the thirty minute mark, Jack was practically hit in the face with another theme within the movie: what's expected versus reality. He was grossly reminded of his… dream from earlier.

It didn't make sense ( _but it did_ ). He thought that he was supposed to help people, supposed to bring them Paradise. Was that not what he was meant to do? Or was it more that he was only meant to help bring them create their own paradises?

Either way, the future had changed. Perhaps not in the way he had intended, but it was still a future much more preferable than some of the others he'd experienced. To be perfectly honest, in Jack's opinion, as long as the future didn't turn out to be one of _those_ , then he was fine with whatever happened.

Because this way – with Castiel as his father figure and Castiel's human brothers there to help – _Jack was free_.

* * *

 **A/N: I know, I know. It's kinda short (and it's been a while), but I figured I might as well just make these chapters however I want them – whether they be long or short, fluff or angst, plot relevant or not. The reasoning for that being that technically this story isn't top priority for me. It's really just a plot bunny that I mess around with sometimes. So I apologize if you're the person who expected this to be something I've got a whole plan worked out for (which is kind of what the rest of my fics are like).**

 **Also – those dogs were chosen on purpose. Three guesses to who they were referencing. And please, someone get at least one of the two right. I did not do several hours researching dogs for my cameos to fall flat.**

Last Edited: [6/23/19]

* * *

 **Avenage99:** I feel like whatever the writers have planned for Jack, it's gonna be important, but at the same time he's not necessarily going to be the star of the show. As for my plans... well, I guess we'll be finding out together.


	4. Let Me Show You

**Precursor Note: POV is a little ambiguous in this chapter – like it switches among some of the characters without any definite break between the switches. Just a fair warning in case someone gets confused. (I certainly was when I was reading back over this and hadn't realized what I had done quite yet, lol.) There are also… some forth wall breaks (slight ones). I'm not entirely sure why they're there, but they are.**

* * *

 **Let Me Show You**

Jack was slowly settling into the Bunker. Slowly, as by its very definition, did not mean that Jack was settling in any form of a quick rate. True, Jack had quickly gained the support of both Castiel and Mary Winchester; however, the Winchester brothers were not so quick to be placate in the nephilim's presence. Dean was ever wary of him with only brief moments of amenability, though Sam found it easier to be amicable around Lucifer's child when Castiel was nearby.

Nevertheless – no matter how slow the rate – Jack was in fact settling in, and one of the first things he had decided to do as soon as he was sure that he was ready was to secure an appropriate vessel for the demonic essence he'd been carrying around. At first he hadn't been sure what to do with it, but after a short conversation with Castiel on the acquirement of vessels and the vessels themselves, Jack had a modicum of understanding as to how he should proceed with putting the essence into… well, somewhere safer.

This is partially what led to Jack being outside of the Bunker at approximately 3:30 in the morning. The other part of the reason being that the Winchesters had all agreed that it would be okay for Castiel to take Jack outside to see the stars, seeing as Jack's first experienced hadn't exactly been the best time for him to actually look up and enjoy the moment. There was also the increasing need for Jack to be outside – it wasn't exactly healthy for a child (half-archangel or not) to kept indoors for long periods of time.

Castiel had made sure that Jack had gotten plenty of sleep before waking the child, who had been excited and hyper the entire day beforehand. If Jack had been in absolute awe of the sky during his first morning, then the feeling that he'd been captured with this night could only be described with bright-eyed wonder. So many questions fell from his lips, though only so many could be answered in the time given before the next was abruptly asked.

It was as Castiel was trying to coax Jack into going back inside that a faint rustling ripped the boy's attention away from his father figure. Light blue-gray eyes shone in the soft moonlight, which settled upon the small form that emerged from some bushes not far from the Bunker's bulky main entrance.

"A dog!" Jack exclaimed, rushing over despite Castiel's quick warning not to wander away.

 _It's perfect,_ the nephilim thought to himself with a heightened level of excitement. Giving the demon essence such a small form would solve the problem of a human vessel being too large for the essence to properly take control of the host. Plus, since it was technically a lower-lifeform, any chances of the essence having difficulties would be practically zero, and Jack wouldn't get into trouble for letting the demon possess a human. Again, _perfect_.

Wiggling in his arms, the dog let out a surprised yelp at being picked up so suddenly. The small dog was a Boston Terrier, a faint voice in the back of his mind supplied. It was just one of those things that Jack simply _knew_ without any way to explain how he knew. Whether the information was from something Jack had seen in his visions or from some sort of passed down knowledge, they had yet to truly find out.

"Can we keep him?" Jack asked with pleading eyes. (They were the same ones he'd seen Sam use on Dean, and as far as Jack could tell they hadn't let Sam down, so the form of persuasion must have a high success rate.)

Castiel could have said no (with great difficulty, mind you), but Jack's innocent request along with the 'puppy-dog eyes' left him struggling to answer. How could he say no? Didn't other children usually have pets? Castiel was pretty sure that the answer was yes…

And so when the humans of the Bunker awoke and headed to the kitchen for breakfast, they inevitably stumbled across the latest addition to their home: the small dog with a black tuxedo coat and a white chest and paws. It would be an understatement to say that they were confused at the sight of Jack playing with the dog in the boy's room. However, each soon came to their senses.

"What is that doing in here?" Dean demanded, pointing at the dog as if it was offending him by its mere presence (which it really shouldn't have been since it wasn't like Dean had a problem with dogs).

"This is Robert," Jack answered offhandedly, though with a touch of pride. He had gotten to name the dog himself after all.

Besides, he was less concerned with Dean than he was with making sure the demon's essence was doing well within its new vessel. Jack was pretty sure that it was small enough that only a very close looking eye would be able to discern the red smoke from the dog's soul. Castiel had given the dog a funny look not long after Jack had secreted the demon into it, but (to Jack's relief) Castiel hadn't said anything about something being wrong with his new dog.

"Robert?" Dean repeated dumbly. "Who names a dog Robert?"

Okay, so maybe Dean's objection wasn't to the dog, but rather Jack having the dog. Jack shrugged. "I thought it fit him."

To be perfectly honest, (and Jack had no conscious knowing of this) Robert was indeed a well fit for the dog as a name. Derived a Germanic name meaning "bright fame", Robert is partially related to the name Roderick, which was the middle name of a certain man who sold his soul for… unsavory reasons and eventually became the King of the Crossroads and then Hell itself. Not that Jack had known that the demon essence he had picked up in the alternate universe was the last piece of Crowley at the time.

Still, the name was fitting in other ways through certain allusions to other individuals, but if some of those individuals were alluded to here, some metaphysical walls would be broken. And this little tangent isn't about breaking walls. Plus, that would be breaking the rules, and Jack doesn't need to be breaking the rules any more than he already has. Seriously, bringing people back to life and back from other universes already crosses so many lines…

It was Sam that spoke next. "And what did Cas say about... Robert?" he asked, sounding like he was questioning what he was asking.

"He let me bring him inside," Jack stated simply, rubbing the dog behind its ears, which it leaned into.

"You realize that you're going to have to take care of Robert yourself, right?" Mary inserted before Dean could go off on a rant about him having to take care of the dog himself instead of Jack or something.

"Of course," Jack chirped before taking on a serious tone. "I would be irresponsible otherwise."

And that was that. Dean made sure that Castiel knew that it was going to be Jack who took care of the dog and no one else. Not that Jack was going to have a problem doing so. Soon enough Jack was finally alone with the dog once more, and the dog's eyes flashed a solid red as it seemed to look up, frowning at the boy, which didn't quite look right on a dog's face.

"Don't be like that," Jack chastised the possessed dog, entering a partially one-sided conversation with it. Though, if one really wanted to get into the finer details, then it wasn't completely one-sided as Jack could understand the dog's – or more accurately, the _demon's_ – thoughts.

"I just haven't told them about you yet… Because I kind of like you, and I don't want them to kick you out or something… Oh? Really? I didn't know that…" Jack let out a huff of minor irritation at the demon's assumption. "No, I don't know everything," he corrected it.

Technically, the demon had been using sarcasm… not that Jack had picked up on that. Still, the demon took note of the correction and responded with a question.

"Well, I know a lot about the future, but anything about the past is just things that were brought up in my visions," the boy answered, and the dog squirmed as Jack pulled him closer to him, hugging the animal. "You're Crowley, aren't you?"

The dog's squirming stalled for a moment before it came back with even more struggling than before. "Hey, hey— quit it. I'm not going to hurt you—" Jack let out a grunt as one of the dog's paws dug into his gut.

Crowley – as Jack had accurately 'known' – was able to scramble away from the boy and decided to stand his ground at the end of the bed. He may not have been as nearly as intimidating as he'd been in his human meatsuit, but this dog could still look defiant. He simply did not need to be outed right now – not with the way his essence was (and would be from now on because the rest of his _soul_ , corrupted as it had been, was just _gone_ ).

"Look," Jack started, holding out a placating hand. "I don't really know you. You could easily prove everything in those other futures wrong about you."

Crowley begrudgingly took a hesitant step forward – head cocking to the side, ears twitching, eyes glaring suspiciously.

"Jack?"

Both boy and dog looked over to the open doorway at the woman standing there. "Is there something wrong, Mary?" Jack asked her innocently as if he hadn't been talking to the dog, pulling his legs to him and folding them in a crisscrossed position.

"I heard you talking to someone," Mary answered, leveling a look on him.

Jack glanced at Crowley. "I was talking to Robert," he replied honestly.

Mary turned her gaze to Jack's dog now. "Oh…"

Jack gave her a winning smile, his angelic side showing off a little (though if we're being completely honest with each other, there are some demons who could act more angelic than some angels, but whatever). And (still being honest here) really, this was the first time he and Mary had been alone in a room together (no, we're not including Crowley because he doesn't have opposable thumbs at the moment). It was a pure miracle that the air between them hadn't gotten awkward at all as of yet.

After another minute of this, Mary made a move to leave, but there was a question that Jack just had to ask while they were alone. "Um, how did you know it was me?"

Mary turned back to face him, a frown creasing her forehead. "What?" she asked back in confusion.

"In that alternate universe," Jack elaborated. "You knew it was me even though you hadn't seen that form of me yet."

"I—" Mary started and stopped. She didn't really know. One moment he was just someone that had come to rescue her, and then the name had simply came to mind, like she had always known. "Uh… I don't— I just knew."

Jack looked down in thought as he mulled over her answer. He could tell she was telling the truth (maybe he should mention that to Castiel later), but something didn't make sense. As Jack watched Mary leave, he wondered what was bothering him – a little itch in the back of his mind.

Something was wrong. But what, he wasn't sure of.

A swift glance over to Crowley had the dog's pointy ears perking up. "Mind keeping watch while I take a nap?"

— **o–O–o** —

 _Red lightning tore across the dry sky of the alternate universe. He narrowed his eyes at the figure headed towards him. Nothing would be able to hurt him here, but one could never be too careful – not with the armies of Heaven and Hell locked in an eternal war. If either side were to discover his presence, only God knew the consequences._

 _So, then, perhaps he should thank his Grandfather for small miracles. Namely, letting him meet with the one being in existence that wouldn't give one shit about what he was. And also that this being would have answers… He'd had some in a different reality anyway._

 _"I can't say_ — _… ever seen the likes_ — _… before," the figure drawled as it neared within hearing range, though technically they both could have heard one another at much farther distances._

 _Of course the words were somewhat scattered, but it was easy enough to fill in the blanks. He wasn't the one answering anyways. It would be a future version of himself doing the talking. He could only listen in on whatever information was given. But first…_

 _"_ — _course_ — _… never know_ — _… might be listening in," the being replied with a smug grin as he – yes, the vessel was definitely male – sauntered even closer. "… pick up_ — _… things after_ — _…_ — _ears of hiding."_

 _He wished he could have done something for this world, even if it was an alternate universe that he had no right to meddle with. Sure, he was there right then, but he wasn't doing anything to alter the course that it had been set on. His world on the other hand…_

 _"Yeah, yeah_ — _… can't change_ — _… but you can_ — _…" The figure let out a harsh laugh. "_ — _haven't heard_ — _… before."_

 _It didn't matter if the being believed him or not. All he needed was information – information that the other had had access to for millions of years. Information that could save his world… Save Castiel._

 _"That's what_ — _… about! You messed up," the being exclaimed, crowing his amusement._

 _So what if he had? He was determined to clean up his own mess._

 _He didn't care if he was going to get grounded for the rest of his life. Castiel could be mad at him all he wanted – the angel was far too overprotective anyways, putting Jack's well-being over his own. But he wasn't about to let his ignorance cost Castiel his life when it was his fault for_ —

 _"Woah_ — _… kiddo. No need_ — _… get all_ — _…"_

 _No. This being needed to understand. What it was that was coming… it was big, and it was_ not good _. Neither God nor the Darkness would be there to help any of them._

 _"Wait_ — _… already?" the other questioned incredulously._

 _He was there, wasn't he? Wasn't he proof enough that anything could happen?_

 _The being shrugged, relenting the point. "Touché… Now_ — _… want to know?"_

 _As soon as he told the other, shocked molten gold flashed through the being's eyes before it was quickly covered by a dark realization._

 _"Shit, you've got it bad," the being muttered under his breath, spitting out a few other curses in several different languages – some dead, others completely unknown to humanity._

 _"Look_ — _" the other started when he finally brought his wits back about him "_ — _Empty is not_ — _… mess with. It's where_ — _… when they die_ — _… No one's supposed_ — _… back from there."_

 _And that was where his 'mistake' came into play. He would still do it all over again, but right now he needed to be able to know how to stop what was coming._

 _"Kid, I don't care_ — _… more powerful_ — _… Dad Himself, you can't_ — _"_

 _The bright gold of his own eyes seared against light blue-gray. He would not be told what he could and could not do. He knew he had broken the rules – his very existence broke the rules – and that the universe was not happy with him. Consequences be damned if he was going to let that fact screw with his family._

 _The other shook his head in disbelief. "Fine_ — _… didn't hear_ — _… from me, got it?"_

 _Jack simply smiled._

 _That smile faded as the other's gaze snapped to the side, fear obvious in his stance. "..._ — _chel's coming_ — _Go, now!"_

 _Too late. The oldest archangel was already standing a few yards away from them. He had never seen the elder archangel in this vessel before – it had to be specific to this alternate universe then. His mind briefly wondered how the vessel might have been related to Sam and Dean (even if they hadn't been born in this universe) before he quickly came up with five different ways to get out of this situation._

 _The oldest archangel barely gave him a glace, turning his brown gaze over to his younger brother. "Hello, Gabriel," came the emotionless greeting._

 _"Michael," the other returned, every inch of him looking ready to flee._

 _Those brown eyes snapped over to him and flashed a steel blue. He could feel himself tensing. He and the other could get out there without much of a fight. All he had to do was open the portal right underneath himself while the other simply fly as far away as possible – Gabriel was the fastest angel in any universe._

 _Michael made a move and_ —

"Jack!"

* * *

 **A/N: This got way more lighthearted and then darker than I expected it too. Whatever. Fluff it was. But then PLOT suddenly smacked me in the face. I wonder what that could all be about…**

Last Edited: [6/23/19]


	5. The World As It Could Be

**The World As It Could Be**

"Jack!"

Castiel really shouldn't have shaken Jack to get the boy to wake up. Robert – the dog, who had originally been curled up to Jack's side as the boy slept – let out a protective warning growl when Castiel first tried to wake Jack from what was looking to be a nightmare. But then when Jack let out a worrying shout, the dog backed away with a soft whine.

That really should have been Castiel's second warning.

However, the angel couldn't leave Jack to the haunting subjugation of twisted dreams. This, of course, resulted in the angel getting blasted back into the wall as Jack abruptly woke with wave a golden energy pulsing outward from his body. Finding himself sitting upright on the bed, Jack's body shuddered from some ghostly chill in the air as he fought to find some set rhythm of breathing.

The Boston Terrier hesitantly settled itself back beside the nephilim that it was becoming attached to. Meanwhile, Castiel was slowly picking himself back up off the floor, staring at Jack with a weary eye, but he was soon rubbing soothing circles on Jack's back with one hand and had his other on the boy's shoulder to steady him.

"I'm sorry," Jack murmured sometime after he'd regained his breath.

Castiel frowned. "What did you see?"

Castiel's frown deepened as Jack fidgeted, eyes averted and a hand rubbing the back of Robert's neck. He figured that whatever Jack had seen in his vision ( _What else could it have been? It certainly hadn't just been a nightmare, let alone a dream._ ) had been rather disturbing, but Castiel thought that Jack trusted him enough to tell him about these things. That Jack was being silent about his latest vision _now_ … It worried Castiel more than the angel would care to admit.

"I saw…" Jack started before biting his bottom lip and wincing when he drew blood. He gently sucked on the minor wound, able feel the tissue heal over with his tongue. After another moment of stalling, Jack continued. "I— I noticed something _wrong_ , so I looked for the closest answer."

That made a modicum of sense. Castiel would have to ask Jack in a little bit what he thought was 'wrong', but for right now he needed to know if Jack was alright and if he needed to tell Sam and Dean about an imminent threat.

"I— well, not _me_ but a future me… There was this person from another universe I was talking to," Jack continued, starting to go into full-on ramble mode. "He was telling me about something in the Empty, and he had been about to tell me how to deal with whatever it was when someone else showed up, and I'm pretty sure it was a bad thing that he showed up because the other guy and I were just waiting for the right moment to leave when you woke me up—"

Moving closer, Castiel put his hands on Jack's shoulders, grounding the Nephilim. "Jack, who were the two beings you saw?"

"Michael— he was the one who showed up later, and he called the other guy…" Jack trailed off with a thoughtful frown creasing his forehead. "I think Michael called him… Gabriel..?"

Gabriel.

Castiel felt a harsh throb tear through his grace. He really shouldn't have been all that unprepared to hear the name dropped. Of course there would be other universes that Gabriel hadn't died in. The angel blinked when one of Jack's hands touched his. Jack was probably picking up on Castiel's emotions and sought to comfort his father figure. Castiel let a small smile form, silently assuring Jack that he was alright. It really should have been the other way around – Castiel comforting Jack, not needing Jack to look out for him; alas, the world wasn't perfect.

"Do you know this… Gabriel?" Jack asked curiously after a moment.

Castiel forced himself to be still to keep from stiffening. Gabriel would always be a sore spot for him. True, Gabriel hadn't been the best brother in the world, but the archangel had died in defense of humanity. That more than anything gained Gabriel Castiel's respect.

"He was an archangel who fought Lucifer to protect humanity… to protect Sam and Dean."

"Oh," was all Jack responded with, looking a bit sheepish.

Castiel took that as its own answer. By now, Castiel had figured out that Jack knew most of what he knew due to what he picked up from his visions. Those visions were of the future, not the past. Therefore, it wasn't unreasonable to conclude that while Jack knew a lot of what would be, he didn't know much about what had been. That, at least, was something he could help with.

"It's okay, Jack," Castiel told him. "I don't mind helping you with what you don't know."

Jack looked away, contemplating something before locking eyes with Castiel. "Do you… would you like to see him? I could show you a bit of what I saw, like before."

Castiel took in a deep breath, leaning back a bit. It wasn't entirely that he opposed to Jack's offer. He especially didn't have anything against Jack showing him like he had during the fight with Dagon. However, the question was more: did he really want to say yes to the offer? Sure, he'd love to see several of his siblings again, but… Gabriel would be different from what Castiel remembered of him. That Gabriel belonged to a different time, to a whole different universe.

"No, Jack. I don't need to see him," Castiel said simply, turning down Jack's offer.

No, Castiel could live with just this: with Jack and Dean and Sam and Mary. They were his family. They were his home, and he needed nothing else.

— **o–O–o** —

Jack fiddled with his pillow. He and Castiel were watching a film series called _Star Wars_ with the Winchesters. Jack's attention was usually captured by the TV screen, but something was distracting him. It was his high pitched buzz that he couldn't place.

After just over a week in the Bunker, Jack was more or less an honorary Winchester. Sam and Dean were still a wary of any angels that could pose a potential threat, and because of that caution, Castiel hadn't been able to take Jack out to buy some proper clothes for him yet.

While Jack could have just materialized a new outfit on himself, Castiel insisted that Jack have a few sets to have on hand. And so, Dean had begrudgingly given Jack a couple plaid flannel shirts, T-shirts, jeans and socks… and underwear. Sam had also pitched in and gave Jack a jacket that was kind of large on his frame. Still, it was all rather comfortable, so Jack didn't complain.

There was also the matter of when Dean refused to back down on Jack getting an anti-possession symbol tattooed on him. Jack didn't see why he shouldn't, and Castiel eventually acquiesced on the terms that he would be the one to put it on Jack's skin along with warding, though in the angelic fashion – meaning, no needles (which apparently wouldn't have been able to leave a permanent marking anyway).

So now, while Jack was protected from the possibility of getting possessed by a demon as well as being practically invisible to the supernatural world, the residual effects of his powers being used were still as bright as day according to Castiel. Jack would have to be careful not to be very obvious as to what he was when he was outside of the Bunker. However, as he was still particularly obvious about it inside the Bunker, all of the adults were adamant about not letting him free to mingle with the rest of the human population just yet.

This, of course, wasn't entirely to the complacent satisfaction of Jack. He wanted to go out and help people, even if it was in the smallest of ways. But when Castiel explained why he still had to stay in the Bunker for now, Jack acquiesced to their bid to keep both him and the rest of the world safe. He could feel it in his grace-soul that his day to make the world a better place _would_ come – it just wouldn't be so soon...

The buzz in his ears was getting louder, sounding more and more like a faint ringing. It getting to the point of annoying now that Jack could hardly focus on what was going on in the movie that was playing. He rubbed a hand in circles over his temple and then over his ear before going over his forehead, shielding half of his face from view. When he brought his other hand to mirror the actions but on the other side of his head, both Dean and Castiel's attentions were drawn to him.

"Jack..?"

The ringing's volume doubled, and Jack's face contorted in a flash a pain. His hands were over his ears now, pressing down as if that could muffle the high-pitched yelling.

" _Lucifer's spawn is with the Winchesters!_ "

" _Kill the abomination!_ "

" _No! We could use him._ "

Jack curled in on himself as the voices got even louder. They – the angels – were all shouting at each other over him. They knew where he was now, somehow, and they didn't like his company.

" _Jack_ ," Castiel's voice cut in through the assault. " _Jack, listen to me. Just me._ "

It was hard, so hard. They were all yelling, and all the words were smashed together, meaning nothing as the voices overlapped each other. But Jack tried, isolating Castiel's voice and honing his focus on that constant murmur. And as he felt the other voices quieting, warm hands covered his.

The voices stopped.

Jack sagged in Castiel's arms.

" _You're okay now, Jack._ You're okay," came the litany, a steady mantra of words that soothed his ears.

Castiel said he was okay, so he was okay. But for now, Jack was just going to rest here for a while…

"What the hell, Cas?" Dean demanded in a harsh but low voice.

"Angel radio," the angel responded simply.

"What were they saying?" Sam asked, cutting straight to the point.

Castiel frowned. "They were talking about Jack."

"Lemme guess: they know he's with us, and they don't like that. Just great," Dean grouched, settling back down in the cushy chair he was occupying. "Now we're gonna have to be ready for an angelic encounter next time we go out."

"Dean—" Castiel started to apologize right before Dean, holding up a hand, promptly cut him off.

"It's fine, Cas. I figured something like this was bound to happen with Adam Young over there."

Castiel felt a twitch of a smile at the name Dean had referred to Jack with. The angel could most certainly see the similarities between Jack Kline and the fictional Adam Young. At least there wasn't an Apocalypse to go along with Jack's existence – even if the anti-Christ hadn't purposefully pursued the end of the world in the end and had actually turned around to stop that Apocalypse, returning the world to its natural order. That was something Castiel was more than sure of, something he truly believed in.

If worst came to worst, Jack would be on their side, humanity's side. They – Sam, Dean, Mary, Castiel and Jack – would be united, together. And perhaps, that's all that mattered.

Mary spoke up, breaking the ensuing silence. "We should go on that supply run as soon as Jack's okay to go. Maybe even take two cars."

"Mom's got a point," Sam agreed. "If we have to hole up in the Bunker for a while, we'll need to stock up."

"Right," Dean exclaimed, clapping his hands and rubbing them together in an anticipatory fashion. "Time to go shopping."

Jack mumbled something unintelligible, shifting in his comfortable spot against Castiel. Clearly he wasn't ready to go anywhere yet. Dean made a face when he realized this.

"Why don't you go make a list of everything we need to get so we don't have to spend a lot of time browsing isles," Sam suggested, offering the activity to his brother as something to keep Dean busy while he, Castiel and Mary had a quick talk.

"You just don't want to do it," Dean grumbled, getting up and stomping off to go do just that.

Sam turned to his angel friend as soon as Dean was out of hearing range. "You know that this might be the last time in a while before Jack gets to leave the Bunker again."

"I will make sure that he knows," Castiel responded with a nod. "I'm hoping that we can treat the time as an opportunity to catch up on pop culture."

Mary blinked. "I never thought I'd ever hear an angel say _pop culture_."

Sam and Castiel exchanged a look. To be honest, they agreed with her. It definitely wasn't every day you heard that from anyone in general. Still, Castiel did have a point. However long it took, the time they'd be stuck in the Bunker would be an opportune time for Castiel, Jack and Mary to catch up on newer movies and TV shows.

Not that they weren't already doing that. This was just the perfect excuse to start binge watching.

* * *

 **A/N: Kinda short, but I'm working on a bunch of other stuff too. I don't really even know what I'm doing with this anymore. It has semblance of a plot, but it's mainly just drabbles that are in order (and are mostly fluff because I think that Jack can just be an absolutely precious cinnamon roll sometimes). And yes, yes I did have Dean reference** _ **Good Omens**_ **.**

Last edited: [06/23/2019]


	6. Light My Way

**Precursor Note: Time Skip! Also OC Alert~ It was the only way to get over my writer's block, okay?! Then again, she (yes, _she_ ; I promise she's not a Mary Sue) isn't playing a major role yet.**

* * *

 **Light My Way**

 _"You should know, it's not just us anymore… but even with merely we two, I know that… that we can make the whole world a better place_ — _for everyone!"_

 _She said it with so much confidence – like there was no way that it wasn't true. It sparked a feeling inside of him that he never wanted to let go of. It was a warm feeling, powerful and awe-inspiring. It made him feel invincible. Nothing could ever go wrong with her radiating that brightness within her. And as she smiled that beaming and full grin of hers, he couldn't help but smile back…_

Jack slowly blinked his way into wakefulness, staring at the dull ceiling above him.

That girl. She was the center of his latest visions of the future. But… Who was she? He'd never seen her before, nor did he know her name. And yet, somehow, he was able to hear every single word she spoke. Just like how he could always hear everything Castiel said to him in his visions.

Could she be important to him? In a way that was interwoven into the fabric of the universe by something even greater than God? He frowned at the thought and turned over onto his side, pressing his face into the comforting softness of his pillow. If that really was the case, then he shouldn't worry about when or how he might meet her. So why did he have a nagging sensation in his chest?

Jack's hand balled into a fist, pulling at his bedsheets. Castiel didn't have a clue as to whom she was either, though the angel had said that she was out there somewhere – alive and roaming the Earth, living her life. Given her accent, Jack figured that she had to be in the United States, too. He wanted to meet her. After being plagued for months with visions of _her_ , he simply had to.

The young nephilim got up out of bed and dressed himself, deciding to tell Castiel of his plans. Well, he was hoping that Castiel might help him with making those plans. Jack wasn't even sure where to start with finding that mysterious girl. All he had to go on was the image he had of her – ingrained into his mind's eye – and that unwavering resolve of hers to make the world a better place. She had to be connected to his same goal.

Breakfast was apparently bacon and eggs, courtesy of Dean's cooking skills. Jack had learned early on never to turn down something that Dean had made in the kitchen. That being said, whenever Sam or Mary and sometimes Castiel made something, a careful internal debate would have to be held over whether or not to trust what was on the plate placed before him. As much as he loved his father figure and the rest of his little family, Jack really only trusted Dean's cooking.

When the humans finally went their own ways for the day, Jack caught Castiel's attention, asking for a private conversation. Castiel agreed of course – the angel would do almost anything for the nephilim he'd sworn to take care of and came to see as his own son. Jack reminded Castiel of the girl in his dreams, and Castiel nodded at her mention, silently gesturing to his charge that he remembered her.

"I want to find her," Jack told him. "These visions I keep having of her— I think I'm supposed to go out and find her."

That's what happened in those movies and shows that Jack had watched with the rest of them while they stayed in the Bunker for that long month when they wouldn't let him outside. It was always the heroes who had to set out on their journey— rarely did the adventure simply come to them. And just like in those fictions, the future – constant and ever-changing – was something that you had to make for yourself. It wasn't something that just floated about, waiting to be fulfilled.

"Are you even sure that this girl will be how she is in your visions if you were to look for her now?" Castiel asked with a mild frown.

Jack was grateful that Castiel hadn't outright told him that he wouldn't be allowed to look for her. "It doesn't matter, but it's something I have to do… I just can't explain it."

Castiel briefly looked away in the direction that Sam and Dean had headed off before turning his eyes back to Jack. "A couple months ago I would have just told you no, but you've come a long way in learning to control your powers. I'll talk to Sam and Dean about it."

"Thanks, Dad," Jack exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace the angel.

Castiel smiled and returned the hug, carefully concealing the flare of concern that passed through his grace. Jack was more than capable of interacting with others without breaking the 'norm', and the nephilim could take care of himself against angels and demons. Jack had proven that during a confrontation with the last Prince of Hell, who had tried to steal Jack away – unsuccessfully, of course – not too long ago. Jack never did anything he didn't want to do; he wasn't the person you could force to do anything.

But there was still…

Castiel had taught Jack how to block out 'angel radio', but that didn't meant Castiel never listened in on what his brethren said to one another. It had taken a while to convince the other angels to leave Jack alone, but eventually the latest 'head' angel agreed to stop coming after Jack if he didn't want to come with them. Jack had gracefully told the angel that he had no idea how to do what the angels were asking – creating new angels – and that maybe one day when he'd figured out how and if they asked nicely, he would. Thank everything that was still right and good in the world that the angel had accepted Jack's answer with a simple "very well" and left.

Even then, that angel had warned Castiel of a powerful surge of energy suggesting another tear in space-time. It had lasted for only a millisecond and nothing had come through, but there was still the possibility that yet another could open and something _would_ cross into their world. Lucifer could return or it might be something else entirely.

And that worried Castiel more than anything. If that girl from Jack's visions wasn't truly from their Earth… He desperately hoped that she wouldn't deceive Jack into doing something horrible. Jack had shown Castiel a future in which the world had become a paradise. That world could easily become distorted into something like the one Jack had left Lucifer in.

Castiel finally told Sam and Dean about the girl of Jack's visions right before he told them about Jack's wish to find her. They were hesitant – rightfully so – in agreeing to let Jack go, but Mary settled the matter with a suggestion: "Why don't you go with Jack, Castiel? That way he won't be alone."

— **o–O–o** —

"Rob! Get off the table! Dean'll kill you," Jack exclaimed, attempting to shoo the dog off aforementioned table.

Crowley let out a rather un-dog like snort, not even budging from his spot. In fact, he seemed to settle himself down even more than he had been before. Jack tried to scold the demon dog once more before giving up with a defeated groan.

"Fine," he huffed, scowling at the wall to their right and crossing his arms across his chest. "You can stay here while Castiel and I go out a quest to find the mysterious girl from my visions."

The Boston Terrier's ears perked up at that.

Jack grinned, knowing that he'd caught the demon's attention. "That's right. I was planning on bringing you along, but if you want to just stay here…"

The dog let out a notable _woof_ , seeming to roll his eyes as he turned around to look at Jack. _As if._

Jack sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know how you ever managed to get along with Dean or Castiel."

Solid red eyes glared at him. _What's that supposed to mean?_

"I'm just saying that you don't exactly have the nicest attitude—" Jack began with a helpless shrug.

"Jack? Are you talking to Robert again?" Mary asked, walking in on the semi-private conversation between the nephilim and the ex-King of Hell.

A few months ago, Jack would have nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected interruption, but this had become a sort of pattern by now. Mary always seemed to wander in whenever Jack was having a serious discussion with the demon inside of his dog. Jack didn't mind all that much, but Crowley didn't like it since he usually had to actually put on an act around the others.

And Jack finally knew the reason why as of his third month staying in the Bunker. The Winchester brothers had been talking about demons due to the appearance of Asmodeus, and Crowley had come up as a topic relating to the rulers of Hell. Jack had been able to put two and two together, piecing what Crowley had hinted to Jack about himself and what the brothers had been saying about Crowley. A lot of how the demon dog acted around them made so much more sense after that revelation.

"Yeah," Jack answered innocently. He was actually kind of surprised that none of them had figured out that Robert was really Crowley, though he was also pretty sure that Castiel had figured it out a while ago but hadn't said anything yet. "We have the most enlightening one-sided conversations."

Mary was hardly ever fooled by Jack's words of double meanings anymore. She could spot them as soon as they reached her ears. This moment was not an exception. "Then you must be excited to go find this mysterious girl Castiel mentioned."

Jack nodded enthusiastically. "I think she might be able to help me make the world a better place, and I'm hoping that she'll have the answers to a question I've had for a while now," he told her with a broad smile.

"You'll be leaving sooner rather than later, I take it," Mary replied with a sad sigh. She would miss the boy. "Be careful out there, Jack."

"I'll be fine, Mary. With Castiel and Rob by my side, there's no way I won't be able to come back. I know we'll all see each other again," he assured her.

 _He's growing up so fast,_ Jack heard her think as she smiled at him. _Castiel's done so well with him. I can't wait to see the man he'll become._

— **o–O–o** —

Jack stared out the truck's window, watching the greenery flash by as they drove along the empty road. Robert was snoozing away in the backseat, and Castiel had been silently driving for the past three hours. They had stopped to let Jack eat dinner several towns ago; however, Jack had insisted that Castiel keep driving southwest instead of stopping for the night. It was only a feeling, but that was the direction that Jack wanted— needed to go.

 _"I can see it. I see it all. The path that lies before me… Yes, I am the only one who can do it. But you. You're different. There's so many paths that you can take, and only you can choose which to follow."_

 _She sounded sad somehow, and yet there was a light in her voice that couldn't be shaken. He loved and envied that light of hers. A light that she had told him he had as well, not that he believed her at the time. But now... He trusted her, and she trusted him. After the trials they'd shared together, nothing would break that bond they forged._

 _"You accomplished what you came here to do,_ little star _. And now, you must go. It was a pleasure meeting you, cousin."_

Jack's eyes snapped open upon the utterance of the last word she'd spoken. Cousin? But how–? Wouldn't she have to be the daughter of another angel?!

"Jack, is something wrong?"

 _How do I tell him that there might be someone else out there like me?_ "I think... In my vision, that girl said something, and it makes me wonder… I think she might be a nephilim, like me," Jack answered haltingly, unsure of his own words.

Castiel's eyes stayed on the road, only the tightening of his grip on the steering wheel betraying his true feelings. Another nephilim? It wasn't absurd, but Heaven hadn't detected any other hybrids. And their search had been vast, not to mention thorough – all under the task of finding any other nephilim to take under their wing, as per the command of Heaven's current leading angel. To protect the family, they said. However, not even three other half-angel half-humans existed in this world, and both of them were also male.

If this girl from Jack's dreams was a nephilim, she wasn't of their world. _Wait a minute…_ Blue eyes widened in shock. They were headed southwest. There was a place in this direction where a mass of ley lines crossed. Was Jack going to open a portal using the power that the ley lines created to control where he wanted to go?

Castiel glanced into the rearview mirror at the 'dog' that accompanied them. The Boston Terrier seemed to be simply dozing at the moment, but Castiel knew it was listening in on everything he and Jack said. It really shouldn't have taken Castiel as long as it had for him to recognize the odd presence within the dog; however, Crowley hadn't done anything to raise suspicion and had actually been a model pet for Jack. That's why Castiel hadn't said anything about the demon to the Winchesters, but Castiel was sure that Jack didn't know a thing about ley lines until very recently, courtesy of one possessed dog.

As if sensing that it was being thought about, aforementioned dog opened one eye to stare back at Castiel in the mirror. Its tail wagged once, and then Crowley went back to 'dozing'. Castiel directed his irritated glare at the road before glancing over at Jack, who was lost in thought and looking sightlessly out the window. A frown creased Castiel's brow. He hated to admit it, but Crowley was being helpful, not just useful.

The demon was taking the role of 'man's best friend' rather seriously, being a steadfast presence that Jack could rely on as a source of companionship that wasn't Castiel or the Winchesters. Jack didn't really have any friends nor anyone who truly cared for him outside of their little family. Crowley had become a link to the outside world for Jack. The demon was resourceful and knew all kinds of things from his life as a human as well as a demon.

And so, Castiel had tolerated his presence in the Bunker. Now, though, it wasn't tolerance. It was acceptance. Jack had asked Castiel if he could bring along 'Robert', and even knowing the dog was really Crowley, Castiel had agreed. Castiel inwardly groaned. Jack literally had an angel and a demon on his shoulders. What had the world come to?

— **o–O–o** —

 _Dark as her hair was, her eyes were like stars in the night. She was both the Sun and the Moon, radiating her light for the whole world to share. She was a queen, born to rule. And more so, she had united all of humanity under a beacon of hope in what had once been a dark universe. With the forces of Heaven behind her, she had driven back the evil intentions of Hell, creating an everlasting peace on Earth._

 _"I really couldn't have done it without you, cousin. Earth would have been lost if you didn't come to talk some sense into me…"_

They were almost there. The drive had been long and the trek to this spot tiring, but they were so close. That pull on Jack's grace-soul grew ever persistent. Yes, he would be able to get to her if he could just get _there_.

Castiel was shouting something to him, but Jack couldn't hear what the angel was saying. He couldn't hear anything over the white noise that enveloped the area along with the blinding light. Drawing power from the ley lines, Jack didn't have to worry about opening this side of the passage between worlds, only where the destination was.

Deep down, even from the first time he'd ever seen her in a dream, he'd always known that she wasn't from this universe. Castiel had only confirmed what Jack subconsciously knew. Being of a different world – _a different universe_ _–_ made finding her that much harder, but Jack welcomed the challenge. He knew he could do this. He had to.

Images of different places flashed before his eyes: a snowy forest filled with lush evergreens; a barren waste land, giant metal spikes driving upwards from the ground high into the sky; a city of millions of people of different races, species even; a river with the sun setting somewhere in the background, painting the sky in hues of red and orange and purple; a dark place that had skeletons littering the ground; a bored looking girl sitting upon a white marble throne; fire, a volcano erupting and spewing lava everywhere; a desert filled with cacti and other arid-climate adapted plants—

Wait— The bored looking girl sitting upon a white marble throne suddenly scowled in anger or frustration. She spat dagger-like words at someone he couldn't see, grinning arrogantly when whoever it was quickly left. That… that was her. She had the same hair and the same face and body, but her eyes were wrong.

They were distant, mean. But the girl he was seeing. It was definitely her. Beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Jack focused everything on that image – that _world_. He was going to reach her. She had answers he needed. Nothing was going to get in his way.

"Jack, wait!"

Too late.

* * *

 **A/N: Definitely longer than the last chapter. And good news guys, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know where I'm going with this fic. It's gonna get so AU that some of you are going to hate me (probably a lot of you), but I get to world build a bit, which is fun.**

Latest Edit: [06/23/2019]


	7. So I Can Be

**So I Can Be**

Castiel had no idea where they were. One moment he'd been trying to get Jack to stop – because he could _see_ the strain of using that much power was taking on the boy's body – the next they were here. Wherever _here_ was.

It was… white. Very white. And bright. The white because almost all of the building-like structures seemed to be made of a light-colored marble. Bright because everything emitted its own sort of glow. Their surroundings were also rather ornate, reminding Castiel of Roman and Greek architecture. There was the odd splash of bold color here and there: gold plating on a wooden door, red curtaining an open window, green leaves on the plants that lined the street they'd ended up on.

Jack was worryingly unconscious, and Castiel still couldn't wake him up after getting them off of the street. Crowley hadn't made it through the portal. The dog had been much father away from Jack than Castiel was when the boy tore through space-time. Secretly, the angel hoped Crowley would be smart enough to stay where he was. If— _W_ _hen_ Jack did open a portal to go home, it was more than likely that he would reopen the one he'd created not an hour ago.

Castiel narrowed his eyes at the empty street. The operative word being 'empty'. Where was everyone? There should have at least been _someone_ wandering about. But there wasn't a single person in sight. It was both disturbing and suspicious. Being around Sam and Dean had taught Castiel to never trust an empty street, especially when it seemed to be the middle of the day.

Something just wasn't right. At this point, Castiel was beginning to doubt he and Jack were even on Earth…

A sudden presence behind him had Castiel stiffening and swiftly turning to face the potential threat. When he was met with a spearhead pointed directly at his head, Castiel froze, taking in the... guard before him. The style of the man's – being's? – clothing was faintly familiar, like he'd definitely seen (perhaps _worn_ ) something similar to it a very long time ago. Other than that, Castiel could only attribute the outfit to an Ancient Roman guard's.

"Identify yourself," the guard demanded.

Not favoring getting speared in the face, Castiel slowly answered: "My name is Castiel, and my unconscious companion is Jack."

The man frowned and slightly lowered the spear, though he didn't let his guard down. He began speaking, but it wasn't to Castiel. "Two subjects have been apprehended in Soul District K-12. Situation level Delta, subjects relatively docile to first contact. Permission to take them in for judgment..."

After a tense moment in which Castiel quickly checked on Jack, the guard gave an affirmative response and then sifted his spear into a rest hold. "You will be brought before Her Highness to be judged for the crime of trespassing," the guard told Castiel.

Castiel looked down to Jack's serene, sleeping face. This was bad. Very bad. They had only been in this different universe for barely an hour and they'd apparently already broken a law. Wait… trespassing… in a _Soul_ District. Castiel repressed the very overwhelming urge to groan in absolute frustration. He should have figured it out the moment he saw the guard – the _angel_.

Jack had set the portal's exit in forbidden territory in that mysterious girl's Heaven.

And ' _H_ _er_ _H_ _ighness_ ' didn't bode well at all.

Castiel quickly decided that just going along with it was the best course of action. The place was too unfamiliar to him to do anything without Jack waking up. At the very least, he could keep them from getting executed by explaining to this queen of theirs why they were here.

Jack woke right as the guard had Castiel step onto some sort of transportation machine. Jack didn't make any moves to remove himself from where he was in Castiel's hold, a bridal style carry. The boy's eyes simply roamed across the world, not stopping even when Castiel stiffened at the platform moving to float upwards and towards wherever the guard was taking them. Presumably the massive palace-like structure Jack's eyes had finally stopped to stare at.

Castiel actually found this world's Heaven fascinating.

It didn't look anything like their Heaven – which was full of bright, monochrome corridors and hallways that contained doors upon doors which opened to an individual's heaven. Here… the souls seemed to be divided in groups based on their last names. Whole generations of families were in these 'districts'. And floating up above the districts on the floating platform like this, Castiel could see that the districts connected to the main palace and spread outwards in a collection of circles – and in a way that didn't fit any sort of laws of physics. Of course, some of the buildings in the districts were floating with perhaps one or two bricks keeping them connected to the 'ground', so Earth physics definitely wasn't something that this Heaven conformed to.

"It's like Magnostadt."

Castiel cast a glance down at Jack, hearing the boy's comment. Magnostadt? Castiel quickly racked his brain for the reference. Oh, yes. It was a fantastical city from one of the anime series Jack had binge watched on Netflix. Remembering the animated depictions of that city, Castiel had to admit that Jack wasn't wrong. Though the biggest different was the palace taking place of the academy in the city's center.

"Will you be okay if I set you down?" Castiel asked Jack.

Jack frowned, staring at his legs, and then nodded. "I can feel them now."

Castiel tried not to think about what exactly that had meant as he let Jack stand on his own. Castiel kept one hand on Jack's shoulder as he wobbled slightly before righting himself, and then Jack gave him a small reassuring smile, stepping forward to look down at the buildings passing below them. The guard glanced over at them as Jack started moving about, but he didn't make any move to stop Jack from doing so.

As they reached the palace, Jack craned his neck to stare up at the very top of the looming structure, which seemed to vanish into the sky. Castiel noted that this inner castle sector they were now entering was more fantastical rather than practical, like he would have expected. The closest soul districts began at the gate they had just passed through, and this was also where the palace began. The village-like shops and domiciles steadily sloped upwards, connecting to the main castle as it all rose into that singular point that seemed to reach forever into the never-ending blue sky.

Castiel didn't have much time to dwell on it further as the transportation slowed to a stop. The guard directed them off of it and towards a set of massive doors that made up the grand entrance to the main castle. Personally, Castiel thought the doors (which were almost five stories tall) to be a bit excessive, but given this world's fantasy aspect, he figured he should just expect these kind of extravagant features.

"She's up there," Jack whispered – so quietly that Castiel almost hadn't heard the words.

He glanced over to see Jack still staring up at the top of the palace. He was starting to get the sinking feeling that the girl from Jack's visions was going to be the ruler of this Heaven. Castiel would have preferred to not meet a potential ally under such circumstances (at least it was only trespassing), but this was what they'd been dealt, and Castiel could only hope Jack had a sufficient plan to appeal to his mystery girl. If not, Castiel already had three – no, wait, _four_ _–_ plans to get away from palace.

In order to get 'up there', the guard led them to a lift that swiftly shot them upwards without needing any sort of apparent sign as to where to take them. They must have been at least a hundred floors above the ground floor by the time the lift stopped. Jack was visibly excited now – Castiel outwardly letting nothing show but inwardly finding himself more on the wary side of caution.

Yet another massive set of doors (though these seemed to be made of a platinum and prismatic design rather than the others' gold, silver and wooden designs) stood before them. Their guard tapped the end of his spearheaded staff on the ground twice, and the doors swung open with a rather impressive amount of smoothness, considering how much larger they were compared to the others they'd passed through.

Inside, Castiel could see an even more massive audience hall. How the room could fit inside the skinny point of the castle, Castiel wasn't even going to question. He'd already seen numerous accounts of how this Heaven was in no way restricted to even the simple laws of any sort of physics (and this was getting beyond how much their universe's Heaven could distort in terms of aforementioned physics). Castiel and Jack were motioned to move forward into the hall.

Glancing up, Castiel noted that the hall's style was more Byzantine than Roman or Greek. The art on the ceiling had depictions of what could only have been this universe's history. Castiel was tempted to crane his neck to get a better view of the images, but he had the feeling that if he really wanted to know what the pictures were describing, it would be easier to just ask. If he ever got the chance.

Jack, however, didn't have eyes for the beautiful and majestic hall that was cast in the golden rays of sunlight that poured in from unseen windows high above their heads. His gaze was locked on the small figure that sat solemnly upon the white throne still a good distance away. As they got closer, some of her features became more distinct – most notably her hair and the clothes she wore. Exactly as Jack had seen in the image that he'd latched onto to get them here. Though thankfully, she didn't seem to be agitated. Instead she looked bored once more, her eyes closed with her head propped up on a loose fist in a way that didn't look very comfortable with her elbow digging into the left-hand armrest of her marble seat.

In her right hand was a silver-looking staff that had an orb floating in the middle of a ring at the top. Four feathers – two on either side of the six inches wide ring – were connected almost as if by nothing, and their brilliant white was offset by a specific color that tipped each one separately in red, blue, green and gold. The orb, bobbing up and down in place as unattached to the staff as it was, seemed to be a crystal of sorts and held something within it that glowed.

When Jack and Castiel got close enough, her staff shifted minutely, causing the feathers to shift. The guard made them stop, stepping forward himself, bowing and then announcing them. "The trespassers, Your Highness."

"You are dismissed, Virgil," she said softly without opening her eyes.

The guard – the angel, _Virgil –_ stood once more and left, his footsteps echoing in the hall. She still didn't move as the doors closed behind him. It was only when silence fell like a blanket over them that she spoke again:

"Castiel and… Jack, was it?"

"Jack Kline, yes," Jack spoke up. His eagerness curbed by careful patience that seemed to come out of nowhere. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

She opened her eyes at that, though it didn't seem to be because she was offended by Jack's lack of courtly manners, more like a bout of curiosity and faint interest. "Should I know whom you are? You are certainly not a citizen of this Heaven, nor this Earth for that matter."

"Well, we don't come from this universe, but I brought Castiel with me to see you," Jack answered somewhat hesitantly.

Silver eyes narrowed. "I do not often get… visitors from other universes. I take it that your trespassing was unintentional then?" she directed to Castiel.

He nodded, unable to help bowing his head slightly. She exuded an air of absolute regality that even he couldn't ignore as an angel hailing from a different universe, who hadn't bowed to _anyone_ in a very long time.

"I cannot properly punish those who do not even know the rules. I shall allow your pardon on the matter of your trespasses," she mused with a soft sigh, her quiet voice amplified by the room. (She could probably only be whispering and they would hear her from where they stood. He didn't want to know how loud her voice would be if she were to shout.) "As for why you are here… Is there a specific reason you wished to see me, Jack?"

A smile formed on his face at the sound of his name falling from her lips. It still didn't sound like _her_ , but he could hear _her_ in the faint echoes that reached his ears as the sound of her words bounced back from the walls. "I'm like you, one of the Nephilim."

She stiffened at the confident words, sitting up – the hand she'd rested her head on being set down on the armrest – as her eyes widened. "The son of an archangel, are you? Which one?" she asked, though it was phrased more like a demand.

"I am, though I have no ties to him aside from the grace that was used to conceive me," Jack informed her.

"I see," she said haltingly with a frown, clearly not liking how he hadn't answered what she wanted to know. "My own father was Michael."

"Was?" Castiel asked before he could stop himself.

If she cared about his abrupt questioning, she didn't show it. "Yes, my father and the other archangels are dead. They died in battle, and I ascended to the throne in their place," she answered sadly, the grip on her staff tightening as if the thought was painful – and it was.

"I'm sorry," Jack murmured in condolence, picking up on her sorrow.

She gifted him a halfhearted smile. "It was a long time ago," she reassured him. "I've had many years to come to terms with their deaths."

"You still shouldn't have had to rule with no one to be there for you… uh…" Jack stopped awkwardly, only now realizing that he didn't know her name.

"Gwen," she supplied with a quiet laugh, a true smile just on the corners of her lips. "My given name is Guinevere Michaelis."

"Guinevere— Gwen," Castiel started, stumbling slightly over which of the names she'd given he should use, "Could you tell us about this universe's history?"

"I could, but it is a rather long tale. Most would find themselves wanting a chair if they were standing like you are now…" Gwen trailed off, thoughtfully looking into the distance.

Her staff tipped an inch to the right, away from her. And then she stood suddenly. Jack noted – as he could see now that she was standing – that the staff was a good head and a half taller than her, and if she were to stand next to him, she would only come up to his shoulder. The staff made an almost inaudible tap against the marble steps and flooring as she descended from her throne to stand in front of them.

"Would the two of you care to join me in my chambers? I have nothing else requiring my presence for the rest of the day cycle. Therefore, I see no reason to not entertain you as my guests," she continued.

At Jack and Castiel's nods, Gwen lead them out of her throne room, to a lift that they took downwards and then down a series of hallways and stairwells. After about five minutes of walking, they finally came to a simple set of wooden doors that opened on their own at a small motion of Gwen's staff. She had them sit down on a cushioned bench and took a seat that was obviously hers across from them. Laying her staff to rest parallel to the ground on her lap, she made sure they were settled before she started the tale of her universe's history.

The barebones basic details were that Heaven and Hell had been at war since the Beginning; Lucifer never Fell; humans knew that demons and angels existed; and though there weren't any other supernatural creatures, there were still ghosts that roamed the Earth, either tormenting humans along with the legions of Hell or simply remaining tethered because of their regrets. Gwen's father, Michael, and the other archangels – Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel (just like in Jack and Castiel's universe) – died in a battle with Hell's overlord, Satan – who was this universe's embodiment of all evil apparently, and he was also very, _very_ powerful.

The climatic confrontation between Heaven and Hell's greatest warriors ended in massive losses on both sides. The archangels were killed, but Satan was also so greatly wounded that he died of his wounds not long after the battle. Gwen now ruled Heaven, and Hell was still in chaos. The humans had been left alone ever since the battle, but Earth was still terrorized by demons and evil spirits alike.

Jack frowned, confused. "Why don't you send angels down to Earth to help? You said that they did before."

Gwen looked down, a dark air falling over her form. "When I was born, humanity feared anything _supernatural_ , as you say. My mother had become an outcast from society, and my birth was made no easier by their harassment. Her only relief from her former friends and family was my father when he visited her.

"He had found her when she was a young woman, saved her and her village from a horde of demons. She later found him injured in the woods near where she went to collect herbs. She helped him, and they eventually fell in love. After I was born, my father thought I would be hidden with my mother's sister and her family, who had reluctantly agreed to look after me, but they couldn't handle the powers I was increasingly becoming stronger and stronger with. They hated me, the whole village did.

"What was the difference between the _half-ling_ that couldn't control her powers and the demons that hunted them like rabid dogs? So, no. I have not sent my angels down to Earth. I will not have them harmed because humans cannot tolerate anything that is not one of their own," Gwen ended bitterly.

Castiel put a calming hand on Jack's shoulder, sensing the boy's growing horror and rising anger. "How long has it been?" he asked their host, not bothering to guess based on her physically young appearance, which made her look around sixteen years old.

"I was born four hundred and fifty-eight years ago. Almost two centuries have passed since my father's death," she answered after a moment of thought.

"Haven't you at least looked down to Earth to see if they've changed?" Jack questioned abruptly. "If the humans were shown that the angels are there to protect them—"

She cut him off sharply. "Heaven did nothing but protect them, and all the humans ever did was treat the angels with derision and fear. They are ignorant, selfish creatures that know nothing of the world!"

Castiel frowned at her exclamation, worried that the angels here thought the same of humans as some in their universe did. It wouldn't be good for Jack if Gwen and the angels of this Heaven held themselves high above the irrelevant matters of mud monkeys. Not good at all.

"Ignorance can't be cured without the proper knowledge," Jack argued.

"A mind that does not want to learn cannot be taught," she snapped back.

"Then a willing teacher must be there to inform those who do wish to learn."

"No one will listen to minority that spout heresy."

"Change is not brought about in a day. It takes time!"

"And how long will it take?! I'll not have my people murdered over the course of several centuries for the sake of a race of beings that refuse to accept us."

"Your mother accepted your father for what he was," Jack pointed out.

Gwen glowered at him. "Was it the same way for _your_ mother? I should think not since you claim no ties to your father."

Jack winced, recoiling at the accusation. "My _father_ ," he bit out, "is a monster. Castiel is the only one who I'll call father and mean it."

Castiel tried not to let Jack's declaration overwhelm him too much. It always warmed his grace when Jack said such things. "The archangel that… helped sire Jack is the technically equivalent to this universe's Satan. In our universe, Lucifer rebelled against God and was cast down."

Gwen's eyes widened in shock and something like recognition, the grip on her staff tightening until her knuckles were white. "Your Lucifer— Would he happen to look like a tall, middle-aged man with dark blond hair and ice blue eyes?" she asked suddenly, their argument forgotten for the moment.

"That's a relatively accurate description of his latest vessel, yes," Castiel replied warily.

"We will continue our conversation later," she excused, standing and moving for the door. As the door swung open, she gestured for them to follow. "Come, there is something you must see."

* * *

 **A/N:** **Castiel is so done with Guinevere's universe,** **but Jack's having a blast.** **I think there's only gonna be another four more chapters for this story. Anyways, comments? Questions?**

Latest Edit: [06/23/2019]


	8. As Great As You

**Precursor Note: Do you guys really hate Gwen that much? Like she won't even be around after the next chapter. If you thought I was gonna make a pairing with her and Jack, at the very most all you'll see here is pre-slash. Sheesh.**

 **Also, partial disclaimer: I've made references _Magi_ already, and I will make references to _Good Omens_ , _Dominion_ , and _Fate: Apocrypha_ as their own worlds - all with their own little twists. You'll understand when you get there. **

* * *

**As Great As You**

Gwen wasn't wrong.

Castiel was stunned at the sight before him. Not one emotion that warred within him was able to rise above the rest. Suspicion had gnawed at his grace as Gwen lead them down, down, down to this Heaven's dungeons – meant to hold all manner of demons and rogue angels. Worry and fear had taken root when she brushed off Jack's questions with short, deflective replies. But when she opened the dungeon's entrance and stopped them at the cell with the captive she wanted to show them… shock, sick satisfaction, repulsion, relief, confusion, anger, and so many more emotions flooded through his grace.

"I don't understand," Jack murmured with a frown marring his forehead as he stare at the bruised and bloodied prisoner.

Said prisoner couldn't have been more restrained. The manacles on his wrists had markings – that Castiel assumed was this universe's version of Enochian – which could only have been etched into the metal to strengthen the manacles' tight hold on their captive. Chains that emerged from somewhere in the dark upper corners of the cell stretched the prisoner's hands out and left him to hang at an uncomfortable angle, his shoulders being pulled back as his body was pulled forward by gravity. His knees were sluggishly bleeding from being rubbed raw against the stone flooring, holes having been worn through the cloth long ago.

Not to mention the other… injuries that littered his body.

"He was found trespassing, as you were, some time ago," Gwen began explaining. "However, he was not as _docile_ as you were to being brought before me and my court for judgment. Several of my high guards were required to be present to restrain him after he delivered a potentially fatal blow to one of the guards who found him. Had he not attacked my guards, he would have been treated as a guest like you, but as it is, he was brought here for due punishment."

"And he said it himself that he was Lucifer?" Castiel questioned, not that he doubted as to who was in the cell before him.

"In so many words, yes."

Jack began to shake his head. "He shouldn't have been able to cross universes, let alone get _here_ —"

"Lucifer was unpredictable on a good day," Castiel interrupted. "There no telling what lengths he would go to if he were desperate enough."

Gwen turned to look at him with a thoughtful expression. "Crossing universes may be difficult for your side of the Nexus, but you'll find that as you get closer to my universe, traversing the known verses becomes much easier— both to and from here."

"The Nexus?" Jack asked with a confused frown.

"I'll explain later. Your Lucifer is rousing," she brought to their attention quickly.

And sure enough, the upper chains clinked as they were jostled when Lucifer stirred, swaying in his awkward position. He winced as the movement must have aggravated something, and he bit his bloody bottom lip to hold back a pained groan, his fingers twitching and closing to make fists, the nails digging into the palms of his hands. It took the archangel another minute to notice his visitors. Even then, he didn't say anything, only staring at them.

"What is left of his punishment is merely to stay in the dungeon's for some time more, but if you wish to add to it, I would be willing to have it done," Gwen spoke softly to Jack.

Just like that, Lucifer's eyes lit with a deadly fire of malice and ire. It was only smothered by the hint of recognition that flickered through those eyes not a moment later. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Jack and Cas. I thought you were dead," he directed at Castiel, narrowing his eyes.

"It doesn't tend to stick," Castiel responded dryly, meeting Lucifer's heated gaze.

"I've noticed," the archangel sniffed, moving on to Jack. "Looks like we meet again. If I didn't know any better, I'd say _you_ were looking for _me_."

Castiel put a calming hand on Jack's shoulder as his anger flared. "Looks like you were wrong," he retorted.

Gwen only raised an eyebrow at the proceedings, but when it started to seem like none of them were going to continue, she tapped her staff once on the ground. The cell door smoothly slid open, and the room brightened a bit. Lucifer squinted at the light change but didn't openly complain about it.

"I would give you more privacy as this is… a family matter, but Lucifer is still a prisoner here…" she trailed off uncomfortably, clearly already breaking her own rules more than she'd like.

"It's fine," Jack assured her, giving her a quick smile as he stepped into the cell with Castiel. "This shouldn't take more than half an hour."

Lucifer quirked an eyebrow up at that. "I'm worth that little of your time, huh? Go figure."

"It'd be none if I had my way about it," Jack muttered, staying behind Castiel as the angel moved a bit closer to the archangel, looking at the chains.

"Dig the fancy markings, eh, Cassandra? I know, they're real high profile. Pretty intricate wardings, and they give a real kickback when you try to— _Argh!_ Frickin'— _mother of a_ —"

Castiel cast his gaze back to Gwen – whose staff's suspended orb was glowing a fierce, hot red-orange – and then back to Lucifer, who was struggling to keep in any more sounds of pain, entire body straining against the chains. The etchings on the manacles shackled to his wrists were also going that red-orange, seeming to sear into Lucifer's skin while letting off electric sparks. But Lucifer couldn't hold back a strangled cry when the glow turned red-white, _seeping into his veins and burning, burning—_

"Stop!"

Lucifer went slack, his heavy and ragged breathing filling the air. Blue and silver eyes turned to Jack, who was staring down at the floor, his face contorted in some emotion Castiel couldn't quite identify. Gwen was the first to get over her shock, a horrid scowl taking hold of her otherwise beautiful features. Jack rounded on her.

"Why did you do that?" he demanded, eyes flaring gold. "Inflicting pain for no good reason isn't right."

"I have heard his ramblings before. Very few truths are to be found in his words. Besides, you hold no love for your sire. I can see it in your eyes even now. You would rather he die than be at your side," she answered in a slow manner of speech, easily meeting his heated glare.

Jack shook his head, letting out a shaky breath before looking over to Castiel, casting his gaze downwards when he couldn't quite look Castiel in the eye. "That… It's still wrong. You can't just torture—"

"Does he not deserve it?!" Gwen exclaimed suddenly – the grip on her staff turning her knuckles white and the four feathers adorning the ring at the top vibrating with an influx of power. "Both yourself and Castiel have told me enough to know that this _snake_ is the cause for many of your world's sufferings as well as a personal torment to you and your close allies.

"He led an apocalypse, intent on ending the human race, and he will more than likely begin another if he were to ever set foot in your universe again. He is a danger to _everyone_. He should not even be here. The only reason he made it to my world is because he ripped out another archangel's grace since he couldn't use his own!"

Jack looked somewhat cowed at her outburst, but that didn't keep him from slowly responding with "Lucifer has done many things – good, bad, a bit of both… But I can't let you keep him here any longer."

Gwen's scowl faded slightly, though it was perfectly clear she still stood by her opinion. And for a moment it looked like she might relent, but then she tapped her staff once on the ground and stormed off, her robes billowing in her wake. Jack stared at the spot she had been standing in before running after her.

"Gwen— wait!"

And then they were both gone, leaving Castiel alone with Lucifer, who was looking rather worse for wear.

"That could've gone better," the archangel grumbled, shifting slightly until he winced and shifted back to a more comfortable position, not that any position he could take would be comfortable as he was.

Castiel didn't pity him. "You weren't exactly helping yourself," he retorted.

When Lucifer fell silent, Castiel didn't bother trying to keep any sort of conversation going. He was more worried about Jack running off after Gwen. His opinion of the female nephilim continued to evolve with each passing minute. Overall, Castiel thought she was a promising ally and quite possibly a friend they'd be able to count on; however, her temperament and cynical world view made getting a solid assessment of her difficult.

Considering this universe's history, though… perhaps her stance towards this world's humans and her fluctuating feelings towards their Lucifer was understandable, in a sense. Just like how he wasn't sure what to make of her, she wasn't sure what to make of them. Lucifer was possibly the easiest to take as an example.

To Guinevere, the Lucifer she knew had been irrecoverably and firmly on the side of _good_. Jack and Castiel's Lucifer was very different, closer to this universe's version of Satan. But Castiel had also seen that Lucifer acted somewhat like her Lucifer. It was clear that this made their Lucifer a paradox to Gwen – he was still _Lucifer_ but not what she remembered, which resulted in her turmoil.

Despite Castiel's dislike of Lucifer, he could see why Jack wanted Gwen to stop. She hadn't been punishing Lucifer for back talking. She had done it because their Lucifer – the sassy assbutt that he was – wasn't her Lucifer. It wasn't healthy, for anyone.

"You think maybe…" Lucifer paused right as Castiel's eyes snapped over to his beaten form. "Jack would ever…"

When the archangel trailed off again, Castiel only stared, not responding as he waited for Lucifer to finish his thought. And it took Lucifer a while. A frown taking the time to etch itself across his brow. The chains rattled a bit as Lucifer sighed.

"I've been a complete ass, haven't I?"

It wasn't a question. So Castiel kept waiting.

"I've got it all wrong, right? Every world I jump to – _every single one of them_ – it's always something that's the bad guy, but then there's someone like that girl's _uncle_. And they're all some variation of me… It's so messed up, and I can't help but wonder what the hell is wrong with all of them… _what's wrong with me_ ," he finished quietly.

Castiel dropped his eyes to the floor. He knew the feeling.

A click suddenly sounded in the small space of the cell. All of the chains clinked as they fell to the floor. Lucifer fell flat on his face a second later.

" _Ow_ …" came the muffled complaint.

Crouching down, Castiel noted that the shackles still encircled Lucifer's wrists. Jack must have convinced Gwen to let Lucifer go, though she clearly didn't trust Lucifer enough to let him have the full range of his power back. Smart.

Lucifer pulled his arms a bit closer to the rest of his body before stopping suddenly, a soft hiss of pain escaping. "Um, it kinda hurts to move, so I think I'm gonna stay down here for a bit."

"Fine by me," Castiel replied with a raised eyebrow, standing back up. "While you're down there, explain how you managed to start jumping universes. Gwen mentioned you stealing another archangel's grace…"

Lucifer picked up on Castiel's prompting. "To be fair, that Apocalypse World's Michael was going to use mine to get back to ours. I just happened to get the upper hand, _but_ I ended up not in our universe.

"It was some other End-of-the-World scenario where Michael and Gabriel were twins, no lie. And then Raphael and Uriel were also twins..? I wasn't really paying attention to the history lesson since I was trying not to die, bring at the top of everyone's shit-list as I was. But before I left, it was made very clear that demons weren't a thing. Instead it was lesser angels or something. I don't know, the humans were calling them eight-balls," the archangel rambled on as Castiel settled himself down for what was turning out to be a long story.

"The next universe was a bit more relaxed. All of the angels there still wanted to kill me, but some of the demons there were okay, I guess. They _did_ try to get rid of me as soon as they figured out I wasn't their Lucifer. Apparently the demon hierarchy is more fleshed out there than in ours, even if that universe's me is locked up way tighter than I ever was because of a failed Anti-Christ named Adam of all things. Then again, I guess he'd be a nephilim since he was technically my kid.

"Anyways, the two universes after that one were boring, but I was running out of grace, so the one I ended up in right before this lovely place was where I took on another archangel. Pretty weak compared to a couple of the other universes' archangels, but they had enough juice to get me here. It's just my luck that I was headed the wrong way the entire time," Lucifer concluded with a dramatic sigh.

Castiel rolled his eyes. "Because may Chuck forbid that you ever get what you want," he drawled.

A low growl left Lucifer's throat. "Hey, now—"

"Think you can get up yet?" Castiel asked, escaping to safer conversation territory. He really didn't feel like getting into an argument with Lucifer right then and there. As likely as it was that he would win any physical altercation, Lucifer's verbal attacks were another matter.

Lucifer let out a grunt of effort as he attempted to lift himself up. His first attempt failed miserably, but by the third Lucifer was on his elbows. And at that point, Castiel was feeling just enough sympathy to help the struggling de-powered archangel the rest of the way up. Lucifer made an initial noise of protest as being dragged to his feet, but when he almost fell on his face again, he let Castiel take his arm to help keep him upright and guide him out of the dungeons.

Castiel hadn't a clue as to where he was supposed to be going after he left the dungeon, but he could feel Jack's grace-soul calling out to him, so he followed the pull. It lead him to the lifts and then to Gwen's throne room. Apparently that was where the two nephilim had ended up to finish whatever _discussion_ they'd needed to have. Castiel would have preferred to have been with Jack during that, but a gut feeling had told him to let Jack deal with it himself.

It had been the right decision.

— **o–O–o** —

Jack caught up to Gwen right as she got onto the lift. She was angry, he could tell just from the way the orb in her staff glowed a vivid red. That and he could feel the emotion radiating off of her.

"Gwen," he started, only to be cut off by a the slight twitch to the left of her staff. He had quickly caught onto the silent messages she conveyed through the gift that had been from her father and uncles. That one had meant for him to shut up until they got to wherever she was headed.

So when she finally sat down on her throne, seeming far smaller in it than she had earlier, Jack tried again. "He's not your Lucifer."

"I know."

"Then let me take care of him. You shouldn't be the one to deal with him," he offered.

She was already shaking her head. "You are not even a year old yet, Jack, _so naïve_. As much as I like you, I cannot just let him go, release him on the universe— mine or any other."

"I might not be as old as you, but I have all the memories from my visions," he pointed out. "Enough to last me several lifetimes. In some ways, I'm older."

Gwen paused at that. She had set her staff down to rest across the throne's arms. The different colored feathers pointed downwards, dictated by gravity, while the orb hung floating in the air within the open circle that curled in around it. She glanced over at the now-cerulean hued sphere once or twice before responding.

"You remind me of Shirou Amakusa," she murmured, silver eyes looking into the endless distance. "He is like us, though he's far older than both of us combined. He shares your heritage, but unlike you he was responsible for his father's death, right after killing his uncles."

Jack grimaced at the comparison once he was given context to this Shirou's character. But Gwen continued:

"He introduced me to the Nexus."

The orb on her staff flashed a brilliant white, and then there was a massive three-dimensional depiction of what looked like millions of galaxies – no, wait… _universes_ _–_ filled the room. It rotated slowly, the individual universes moving outwards to make space for newer, smaller ones that formed near them. With a wave of her hand, Gwen highlighted two universes that were complete opposite sides of the Nexus.

"The one on your left is this universe, and the one on the right—"

"Is mine," Jack finished, unintentionally cutting in, but she only smiled at his awe.

"Yes, it is. As you can see, the universes near mine are closer together while the ones near yours are further apart. That is why it is easier to traverse universes on my side of the Nexus, though I have yet to attempt a jump. Through a sort of dream message, Shirou has told me that he's done it a few times before. He keeps an eye on those like us, the children of archangels or those equivalent to such," she explained.

Jack glanced at her for a second before turning his attention back to the holographic-like image he found himself standing in. "So he knows about the… Cosmic Entity that's stirring."

"Far more than I do," she admitted, resting her head on a propped up fist. "You should see him before going home. You have to make at least two jumps to make it back either way."

Jack nodded in acknowledgment of the information, seeing the location of the other nephilim's universe being highlighted and noting that it was only perhaps a quarter the distance to his own universe. A rather colorful and rapidly changing universe caught his eye.

"What's that one?" he asked, pointing at it.

Gwen looked over at it. "I'm not sure. Supposedly it has a nephilim; however, I doubt there is anything left of that universe despite the activity."

"What do you mean?"

Gwen frowned, taking in a deep breath. "There is not a single human left. Usually one can see how full of humanity a universe is based on its glow. While that one is colorful, it's glow is almost nonexistent," she said with another wave of her hand, zooming in on the universe to show what she was saying.

"Oh, I see… Are the ones with the other nephilim all more colorful than the ones without?" Jack inquired as he made the observation.

"More or less. I'm not near as studied in matters of the Nexus enough to claim it as fact," she admitted with a small one-shouldered shrug, momentarily pausing before moving on to a topic neither really wanted to bring up. "Not to be impolite, but you and Castiel have done what you came here to do. I held an audience with you, and I have agreed to your proposition to aid you with this Cosmic Entity when the time comes. It is time for you to go."

Jack mirrored her sad look. They hadn't known each other long, but there was a connection there that linked them from across universes. To leave after less than a day of meeting, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. But retuning back to Sam, Dean and Mary would be for the best.

"And you'll let me bring Lucifer with me?" He had to ask.

She smiled at him, shaking her head in an amused exasperation. "How adamant of you... Yes, take that viper with you," she replied fondly.

* * *

 **A/N: And before you ask, there is some stuff going on in the background – mainly stuff about the big bad Cosmic Entity that Jack happened to wake up and piss off (Like, the Cosmic Entity is the season big bad of the Jackie Boy 'verse, but you guys don't have to worry about too much plot about it… though it is part of the reason why Jack was so adamant for finding Gwen, not that he understood that at the time.)**

Latest Edit: [6/23/2019]


	9. And We Will

**Disclaimer:** More _Fate/Apocrypha_ stuff because at this point I'm entertaining my sister with this and she kind of likes Shirou Amakusa so that's pretty much the entire reason he's in this story. (In other words, this chapter is dedicated to her.)

* * *

 **And We Will**

With a smile, Jack turned to greet Castiel as the angel and archangel made it to Gwen's throne. They would be leaving soon, and Jack had every intention of fulfilling his promise to Gwen. Once they were gone, she would have no need to worry about Lucifer disrupting her universe's fate. She would be left to bring paradise to her world by her own means.

As impossible a dream it might have been in their reality, for others it was entirely a possibility. After all, paradise – like time – was relative. To the humans of this world, a life free from fear and demons was a world well worth calling a paradise. However long it took, Jack knew that Gwen could (and eventually would) make their dream real.

Call it naïve. Call it a corrupt fantasy. Call it whatever you like.

That perfect world will become reality. And with it, the salvation of all mankind. Paradise will come.

"Lucifer, you are being released and allowed to join Jack and Castiel as they make leave to your universe," Gwen announced to the two, continuing with narrowed eyes. "You had best stay put in your world once you return. I'd recommend simply settling down."

Lucifer gave her a brief and cringed false smile. "Right. Duly noted."

Castiel rolled his eyes, letting go of Lucifer's arm and leaving the archangel to sway slightly on his feet. "We're all good, then?" he asked of the two nephilim.

After sharing a look with Jack, Gwen nodded her head once in answer. All that needed to be done between the two parties had been accomplished: a treaty had been made, an alliance formed, and friendship established. And now they had to go.

Gracefully standing, Gwen held out her hand for Jack to take, which he did once he climbed a few of the steps to be able to comfortably reach far enough. Still managing to look regal as ever, Gwen moved her staff in front of them, a bright light building in the orb. Jack, instinctively knowing what to do, let the power from the orb ( _the grace from Guinevere's father and uncles, a gift left to her after their deaths_ ) flow and mingle with his own, seeping into his core and filling him with exactly what he needed to open a portal that would take them where they needed to go.

Closing his eyes, Jack focused that power into his hand, just as he had the last two times he dared to tear into the fabric of the universe. And but unlike last time and more like the time before, Jack opened the rift with controlled ease. Opening his eyes, Jack saw the golden crackling portal that would send them to the next world.

"Until we meet again, cousin."

Jack turned to look at Gwen at the words. Seeing her smile, he returned it along with a nod. He had already said his goodbye, and there was no need to pull at certain emotions by doing so again. Still, Jack squeezed her hand once before letting go, turning his gaze back to Castiel and Lucifer. Giving a subtle signal to Castiel, Jack watched as the angel not-so-subtly shoved Lucifer towards the glowing portal.

Lucifer glared at it with a stare that, if looks could kill, would have been able to commit mass genocide or perhaps scorch the entire face of the Earth in a wrathful fire. Behind the archangel, Castiel rolled his eyes and gave Lucifer yet another shove. The archangel passed through with an annoyed yet startled expression.

Castiel looked at Jack before following Lucifer, moving on to the other universe and filling the room with a second flash of light. Jack dared not look back as he descended the steps from Gwen's throne. He would see her again when the time came. Then, and only then, would she be the girl he knew from his visions.

Jack almost tripped over something the moment he stepped through the portal, which winked out of existence as soon as he was on the other side. The only reason Jack hadn't tripped was because Castiel had caught his arm and pulled him back towards him, keeping Jack from stumbling over their other traveling companion.

Lucifer, who had landed on his injured side, let out a groan and rolled onto his back. "Did we make it?" he grumbled after a minute or two, glancing upwards.

Castiel was already looking around, a frown on his face. "It's no longer Guinevere's world, that's for sure."

"Ah, there you are. I've been expecting you for quite a while now," a serene voice greeted them.

Jack's eyes snapped over to the voice's owner – a tanned, white haired man dressed in black and red. What stuck out the most to Jack was the small golden cross that hung from the man's neck. That or the long, sharp knives ( _keys_ , his mind supplied) that he had held loosely in his left hand at his side.

"Great, a priest," Lucifer drawled, having lifted his head to take one look at the man before rolling his eyes and dropping his head back down on he ground (holding back a hiss of pain at the impacting _smack_ when his head hit the hard stone).

But Jack was already stepping out of Castiel's grip and moving towards the stranger, smiling at the man – _not just a man_. "You're Shirou. Gwen told me about you."

The priest – _Shirou_ _–_ returned Jack's smile. "She'll be quite the ruler one day," he mused. "I would give it another thousand years before she has control over all of her universe. Then again it didn't take me that long after killing Lucifer."

Lucifer made a choked noise, his head snapping back up to take another look at the so-called priest. Castiel also to a moment to give this Shirou a second glance. The angel and archangel both blinked owlishly when they realized what the priest was.

"Not another one," Lucifer groaned, (gently this time) putting his head back down, as Castiel turned his blue gaze to Jack. "Why did no one mention that we were making a pit stop in yet another nephilim's place?"

"There's no need to work yourself up. I have the uncanny feeling that this won't take long at all," Shirou informed the archangel, his smile taking on a sharp edge.

Meeting the challenging stare head on, Lucifer didn't bother masking the tension that filled his grace and outlined his body. Castiel frowned at them, but when he looked back over to Jack, the young nephilim didn't look worried in the slightest. Instead he was gazing out at what looked like some kind of stone railing in the distance.

That was when Castiel realized whatever it was they were standing on (or laying on, in Lucifer's case), it was floating high up in the sky. Walking over to the balustrade, Castiel peered over the side to see the ground miles below them. Just then, the floating fortress – _because what else could it have been?_ – passed through several clouds, obscuring the green, rolling hills from view.

"It's called the Hanging Gardens of Babylon."

Castiel's eyes snapped over to the old (and yet eternally youthful) nephilim, who had joined him at the balustrade. There was something about Shirou that left Castiel with a distinct uneasy feeling. Castiel didn't need anyone to tell him that this nephilim's sire had been Lucifer. He could tell just by the glint of _something_ in Shirou's eyes: it reminded him of a snake in the grass. It twisted the rest of his benign and priestly act into a devious façade.

However, that didn't mean that Shirou wasn't on their side. At the very least, even if Castiel didn't trust Shirou, the angel trusted Jack, and Jack didn't seem all that bothered by the other nephilim. Which made Castiel wonder if all of their nephilim encounters would go as smoothly as they had so far. (By the rules of probability, eventually, there would be one encounter that would go absolutely wrong.)

"This is the one place in my entire universe that is not free of sin," Shirou continued, breaking into Castiel's thoughts.

Castiel stared at him when his mind finally registered the meaning of the words. "Your world has achieved paradise?" he asked, shocked.

"In a way, yes," the nephilim replied easily with a nod. "I understand your confusion and concern, but I refused to watch my world burn into nothing because of the maniacal and ill-destined fates of my father and uncles. Out of the few paths that were set before me, I chose the one that would give my people their salvation.

"I do not expect you to accept or even understand my decision, but I would ask you to not judge me or the humans of this universe simply because of the beliefs in yours. I'd like to think that as Jack's chosen father, you are aware of the many possibilities that come with his powers. His are like mine, though I've had far more time to master them."

Pausing, Shirou let out a tired sigh and leaned onto the railing as the flying fortress finally passed through the clouds and revealed the green world below them. His red holy shroud billowed gracefully behind him with the wind blowing past. The odd thought that this is what Jack could turn out like much, much later in the future occurred to Castiel, and he found that he didn't like it.

A little smirk pulled a the corners of Shirou's mouth, as if he'd heard the thought (who knows, maybe he had), and the nephilim turned his head slightly to shoot the angel a look. "I wouldn't worry about that impossibility. None of us – the Nephilim, those born from archangels – are alike. Those of use with the same sire have similar abilities, but each and every single one of us is different, most often because of how we were raised.

"You will not meet another Shirou Amakusa, nor another Guinevere Michaelis or a Jack Kline. I had found it strange when I first realized that during my travels across the Nexus, but then it made perfect sense. There simply couldn't be another just like us because of our powers. The universes themselves don't want to risk having two of me or Guinevere or Jack all in one universe. It would create a catastrophe, whether we intended it or not. But this, of course, makes us Nephilim all the more rare and hard to find…"

Castiel forced himself to look away from the reminiscent expression that came over the nephilim's face. "How many have you met?" he asked, trying to stay on the topic while also moving away from the sensitive parts.

A thoughtful look passed through those strange burnished gold eyes that shone of a nephilim's grace-soul. It was a darker gold than Jack's, but at the same time, Castiel couldn't imagine such a gold color belonging to any but a nephilim. That Shirou's eye color seemed to be in this permanent state of darkened gold, Castiel could only take to mean that Shirou was constantly using his powers. (Maybe it had something to do with how the Hanging Gardens were floating?)

"Of those I've met personally, the number would be thirty-one, as of now, not including myself," Shirou finally answered after a long silence.

Considering how vast the multiverse – _the Nexus_ _–_ was… thirty-two known nephilim was not a lot. It took a moment for the fact to register in Castiel's mind, but as soon as it did, the angel felt a twist of emotions – the most prominent being a strange sadness.

Castiel could feel it in his grace how much Jack was overjoyed to meet another of his 'cousins'. It was an excitement that Castiel never wanted the boy to lose. However, if Jack had already met two of the other known thirty-one nephilim, it would only be a matter of time before Jack had met them all, even if more were found in that time period. While thirty was a rather large number, considering the familiar connotations in human terms, at the same time, the number was so _small_.

"Come," Shirou prompted suddenly, pulling Castiel out of his thoughts. "Jack and I have much to discuss before I send you three to your next destination. I'm sure you'd all enjoy a short tour of my home."

— **o–O–o** —

The Hanging Gardens, which had been left to Shirou after the passing of a 'dear friend' was massive, and the so-called short tour had lasted almost an hour – and Castiel was sure that they hadn't been shown even an eighth of the whole fortress. Lucifer kept a mildly unimpressed look on his face the great majority of the time. It only slipped for a few seconds whenever Shirou stopped to show them something truly amazing: the Greater Holy Grail.

As corrupt as it technically was, with Shirou's wish fulfilled, there was no more use for the thing, and so it sat as a trophy in the Hanging Gardens. Upon Shirou's explanation of the Grail, his earlier comment about the Gardens being the only place in this universe that was "not free of sin" made much more sense to Castiel. Seeing the sad look Jack was giving Shirou, Castiel quickly realized that this also meant Shirou was the only one in his universe that couldn't achieve paradise. It was, perhaps, this universe's ultimate flaw.

Shirou didn't talk about the war that had resulted in this world's paradise. Nor did he talk about the losses that came with it (the price that had to have been paid to make his perfect world). He kept those secrets to himself and only spoke of the world's triumphs. With the deaths of the archangels, the angels fell under his command, and Shirou had sent them all to Earth to mind the human souls – not that they needed minding, it seemed. There weren't any demons to speak of, and the only true evil left was the Greater Grail.

(The three outsiders didn't dare to mention how there was one other 'evil' besides the Grail; for one could not possibly still be fully faithful to the light after making such a deal in darkness. It would be much later that Jack would confide to Castiel that Shirou's world had not truly achieved paradise. This was because the wish that the Greater Grail had granted what Shirou wanted but also took away something important, leaving humans to live a sort of half-life. Shirou admitted to knowing this but couldn't do anything about it and simply kept any visitors from leaving the Hanging Gardens, which were protected from the Grail's affects.)

By the end of the tour, Shirou had taken them back to the gardens atop of the fortress. Castiel watched from a fair distance as the two nephilim shared yet another – albeit shorter – conversation between themselves while he was left to keep an eye on Lucifer, who was lounging on one of the stone benches, picking at one of the shackles that still encased his wrists.

Castiel stared at the archangel for a moment. He had thought that since they'd crossed into a different universe that the markings and enchantments on the shackles wouldn't have an effect on Lucifer anymore, and yet (now that he thought about it) Lucifer hadn't used his grace once during the tour, and there were still traces of bruises and scratches barely hidden by the archangel's clothes. The angel held no sympathy for Lucifer, but that didn't mean that a sliver of concern couldn't be pulled from him.

Moving over, Castiel got a closer look at the shackles, which could have passed for bracelets to the unknowing eye. "Having trouble getting them to come off?" he asked, attempting to be at least somewhat polite.

"Go watch the bees, Castiel," Lucifer growled, obviously frustrated.

"You could ask one of them to help," he pointed out, gesturing to the nephilim, who were still in deep conversation with one another. "If you're nice enough about it, they might actually consider it."

"You know what—"

Castiel held up a hand, interrupting the archangel. "If you ever want to try being the good father Jack hopes you'll be, you have to start somewhere." And then Castiel turned and left Lucifer to brood.

Almost a half an hour later, Castiel watched Lucifer walked up to Shirou and Jack. He watched Shirou take the shackles off and then show Jack how to put them back on before handing them over to the younger nephilim. Lucifer appeared to be dismissed, and the archangel huffed and joined Castiel by the balustrade.

An hour after that, Shirou called them back over, opening a portal as soon as they were all ready.

"Remember, Jack, we Nephilim live long lives. Spend as long as you can with your family and keep those memories with you. You'll need them."

* * *

 **A/N: Another one that's kind of short, but to be fair, I wrote this after writing the next chapter (which was a really bad idea on my part). Still, you'll have the next chapter soon enough. And then it'll only be one chapter left. (Go get the tissues if you need them.)**

Latest Edit: [6/23/19]


	10. Make the Whole World

**Disclaimer:** Blatant use of the short anime film "Shelter". I did take a few liberties with the technical background of the work, but it was to make some things fit. Others were just personal headcanons of mine.

* * *

 **Make the Whole World**

As soon as they exited the rift, Castiel was pushing Jack out of the way— … of a floating tree? Lucifer barely dodged in time, all of them hitting the rocky ground in order to avoid getting hit by the tree, which planted itself down a few feet away. Picking themselves up, each took a moment to brush the dust off their clothes.

Jack glanced back at Castiel and Lucifer with a faint frown, seeing their own mirroring ones. He wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting. Gwen _had_ told him that they'd only seen one being in the universe Shirou had sent them to as the last step-stone back home, but she hadn't mentioned anything about the suspected-nephilim being able to freely manipulate everything in it. For now they would just have to find the person and talk to him or her like they'd planned before jumping back to their world.

Lucifer was picking himself up, muttering something about "stupid flying trees", when he suddenly stopped, staring at something— some _one_ off in the distance. Jack looked over to see… a girl? It didn't look like she'd noticed them yet as she was fiddling with something like a tablet.

Jack started walking towards her despite both Castiel and Lucifer's objections. It wasn't hard to get to where she stood beside some kind of glass room that was based at the bottom of the light beam which reached up, up, up into the 'sky'. It really wasn't that bad of a walk even with the rocky, canyon-like landscape. The girl startled, clutching her tablet close to her chest, when Jack reached out and brushed his hand against her elbow. She turned sharply, amber eyes widening.

"I like your bow," he commented in greeting, pointing at the light pink ribbon that kept some of her scarlet hair out of her face.

Her mouth opened for a moment, and she looked as if she was about to say something when she closed it, peering over Jack's shoulder at Castiel and Lucifer, who were just now catching up to Jack. The girl expressed an air of nervousness, especially in the way she glanced down at her tablet and how her grip on the pen tightened. The silver gems that laced her hair sparkled as she turned once more, her eyes going to the glass room – _where she lived_ , Jack realized as he took a moment to follow her gaze.

Jack cleared his throat, catching her attention once more. "My name's Jack, and that's Castiel, and that's Lucifer," he said, introducing them each in turn. "We're… we're heading back to our universe, but we had to stop here. I hope you don't mind."

Jack felt like the truth would be the best. They didn't have much to hide, and if this girl – a possible nephilim – was the only one left in this universe, then it wasn't as if they could destroy an already decimated world. And, this way, Jack might be able to satisfy his curiosity as to what happened in this universe to end up like this.

The girl was staring at him like he had two heads. Then again, Jack reminded himself, she'd been alone here for who knows how long ( _since she was too young to remember_ , something told him), which meant that their presence was beyond abnormal for her. But she didn't look scared… just nervous and a touch curious – like they were a new but possibly daunting puzzle she wanted to solve.

"Do you have a name?" he asked, a bit of worry working its way into his voice. She might not remember, and that troubled him.

Her stare hardened, and Jack could feel Castiel's own gaze focus on his back. Jack didn't want to break eye contact with her to find out what Lucifer was doing – probably looking off into the distance with a bored expression… that or silently plotting a way to get away from them as soon as they got back to their universe, which Jack was able to understand. It wasn't like Lucifer was being subtle about his feelings towards Jack and Castiel.

Without warning, the girl started drawing on her tablet, causing the three of them to tense. But they hadn't needed to worry. All she had done was create a small wooden building, which appeared several hundred yards away from her glass room, and she then pointed at it.

Jack frowned. "A cabin?"

Having experienced her manipulation of reality as she did so, Jack was beginning to understand how her powers worked – and there wasn't any doubt left in his mind that she was a nephilim ( _but whose child was she?_ ). The stylus was a conduit for her grace-soul, and the tablet was essentially how she put her thoughts on 'paper'.

It was amazing. Neither Gwen nor Shirou could do anything like this.

The girl shook her head. Jack figured she was trying to tell him something, but she wasn't answering his question. It made him wonder if she was unable to. Or perhaps she'd never learned to speak. At the very least, she understood what he was saying.

She pointed at it again, making a frustrated sound.

Jack stared at the cabin. Yes, it was a cabin, but the answer wasn't a cabin. A house? Home? He voiced the two possibilities, but again she shook her head.

"Shelter?" Castiel offered.

Her face brightened at that, and she nodded. She then pointed at the cabin once more before pointing at herself. The answer finally dawned on Jack. _So she had been trying to answer him._

"Shelter?" Jack repeated. "Is that your name?"

She looked to the side sheepishly and shook her head once.

"Do you not remember?"

An unsure shrug of her shoulders.

"But you want us to call you Shelter?"

She looked up with a shine in her amber eyes, nodding expressively.

"How'd you end up here?" Lucifer asked out of nowhere.

Jack looked back, shooting a glare at his sire. However, Jack couldn't be mad at the archangel for asking aloud the question that had been bugging him ever since he'd seen this universe in the Nexus. Shirou hadn't had an answer for him, but Jack wasn't sure that Shelter had an answer either.

Looking back at the girl in question, Jack noticed that she was worrying her bottom lip, her hands gripping her tablet like a lifeline. Slowly, she pulled something up that didn't change the landscape – until she selected something that _did_.

The whole reality 'cleared'. Even the glass room was gone. They had been left to stand on a vividly green patch of grass that was surrounded by a surface of water that was so calm it made a perfect reflection of the partially cloudy, clear blue sky.

Shelter gave them a look, tilting her head in askance. As if to say, "Are you sure?"

Jack glanced back at Castiel and Lucifer, receiving a nod from the both of them. Turning back to her, he gave his own nod, and she seemed to let out a sigh and then took in a steadying breath.

She held out her tablet and let go. But instead of falling to the ground, the tablet hung in the air, a glow beginning to surround it. Brighter and brighter the glow got, and soon enough even Jack was squinting at the light it emitted, needing to cover his eyes.

When he lowered his hand, opening his eyes, he saw that he was glowing a transparent golden color – and so was Castiel, Lucifer and Shelter. Looking around, Jack froze when he finally noticed the massive object ( _was that a planet?_ ) in the sky.

Wind whipped about him, making Shelter's red ( _everything was seeped in red_ ) hair fly back and causing Castiel's trench coat to flap violently behind him. All he could hear was the atmosphere burning, burning – the fire that raced across the sky as that _thing_ slowly fell to Earth.

And then it was over, gone as if nothing had happened. They were back to that green patch of grass amongst an ocean of tears.

Castiel looked no where near as stunned as Jack felt. In fact, Jack felt nauseous. That… That. _How?_ How could something like _that_ ever have been allowed to happen? _What had Heaven and Hell been_ doing _?_

Jack jerked slightly when Shelter put a hand on the shaking fist at his side. Stinging eyes trailed up to meet concerned amber orbs. When she deemed that he was okay enough to let go, Shelter took back her hand to press something else on her tablet.

Hesitantly, she turned the tablet around so he could seen what was on the screen. It took Jack a moment to realize it was a letter. One that was in a language he couldn't read. Jack turned, looking to Castiel for help – only for Castiel to shake his head. It was Lucifer who eventually spoke up.

"It's from her father," the archangel started, his eyes narrowed at the screen, his face oddly blank. "Her name is Rin… The letter is a goodbye and an apology.

"You've been here all alone, this entire time," he said quietly to her, looking away.

Shelter – _Rin_ _–_ pursed her lips, bringing her tablet back closer to her, before nodding sullenly. She stared at the screen a moment before selecting something else, and the scene changed once more. They were in a house this time (glowing transparently yet again).

There was a little girl in a coral pink dress playing in a park ( _that was Rin_ , Jack discovered after glancing between the little girl and Shelter; he could tell the difference, and it stood out distinctly in his mind why Shelter was Shelter and the little girl was Rin) with a man – her father. That was clear as day: the two shared the same eyes, those eyes that radiated a subtle power that could only be associated to grace.

But Jack couldn't place which archangel he might have been.

" _Gabriel_."

Jack's eyes snapped over to Lucifer. He had barely heard the whispered name, but the pain that came with it overwhelmed the archangel's expression. There was guilt there along with a regretful sadness. Jack glanced back at the image of Shelter's father, trying to connect what he knew of Gabriel to what he saw before him.

The pieces didn't click together until he cast his gaze over to Shelter, who watched the man and the little girl with a nostalgic look of bittersweet happiness.

Shelter could manipulate the entirety of reality around her. The only archangel he'd been told about that had been able to do that was Gabriel, who could make time loops and pocket dimensions at will. Of course it was Gabriel.

( _He should have known just from the archangel's eyes. You could always tell by their eyes. After all, a person's eyes were the window to their soul._ )

Gabriel must have created a dimension that was barely shifted away from the real world, and over time – _long after the rest of the world had burned_ _–_ the border between the two crumbled, leaving Shelter as the only one left. At some point she had received that pre-programmed message along with the memories of the times spent with her father as he tried to give her the best childhood he could with so little time left in the world.

Jack had to close his eyes and take a deep breath before it all become too much. _It wasn't fair._ No one deserved to be so completely and utterly _alone_.

A solid hand rested on Jack's shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Shelter looking at him with that same concern from not minutes before. Castiel was mirroring the emotion while Lucifer had turned his focus on Shelter, albeit in a passive manner.

"Shelter…" Jack started, trailing off when he couldn't continue, finding himself at a loss for words.

Lucifer stepped a bit closer, for once willing placing himself within five feet of Jack and Castiel. "If you two don't mind, I think I might stay here," he said suddenly.

Castiel seemed to do a double take. "What?"

"You two can go on home. I'll stay here," Lucifer reiterated, looking as if he were suppressing an eye roll.

Jack stared at the archangel, Lucifer eventually meeting his gaze head on.

 _Let me do this, Jack._

Hearing those words in his head, it occurred to Jack that Lucifer _needed_ this.

Once upon a time, Jack had stabbed Lucifer in the heart and yelled at him to figure out how to be a good parent. Since then, Jack hadn't really considered if Lucifer might actually take him up on that 'advice'. Castiel had told Jack that Lucifer had admitted to messing up but not necessarily to trying anything different.

They had all been so convinced that the tiger couldn't change its stripes, that it was simply in Lucifer's nature to be the way he was. It would take a miracle for him to change for the better, he'd been told. _Perhaps_ , Jack mused quietly to himself, _it only took witnessing the happenings of several different universes._

Shelter cast a glance between the two of them, giving Jack's sleeve a slight pull in a grab for his attention. Breaking eye contact with Lucifer, Jack looked down at what Shelter had on her tablet's screen. She had redrawn the canyon landscape from when they had just met her, but there was also what looked like a rift as the main focus of the picture.

"You don't mind us leaving so soon?" he asked.

She shook her head, lifting a free hand to place it over his heart. He smiled at her. It seemed she knew the expression: home is where the heart lies.

Pausing, he directed their gazes over to Lucifer, who was watching them with a deceivingly calm expression. "Would you let him stay here with you?"

She blinked in surprise, not truly believing what she was hearing despite overhearing Lucifer's earlier bid to stay. Jack felt a phantom stab to his heart at her disbelief that she wouldn't be alone anymore. He slowly took her tablet and set it down on the ground, causing the world around them to default back to that green patch of grass.

Taking both of her hands in his, Jack looked her in the eyes. "It's okay, Shelter. You don't have to be alone anymore. There's so many of us out there. All you have to do is call out, and we'll be there."

Tears welled in Shelter's eyes, and Jack pulled her in for a hug, letting her cry in his heartfelt embrace. Shelter folded in on herself, bringing Jack down to the ground with her. She was sniffling when Lucifer knelt down beside them and put a hesitant hand on her back, rubbing in soothing circles with his thumb. Castiel joined them after another moment, deeming to simply sit next to them.

— **o–O–o** —

"Wait— so you just left him there?" Dean asked, incredulous.

Jack scratched lightly behind his dog's ears as the demon possessing the dog let out a loud huff. At this point, Jack figured he might as well stick to referring to the Boston Terrier as Crowley since the ruse about his identity was more or less over. It hadn't taken Sam and Dean long to work out Robert was Crowley after the dog had somehow managed to make it all the way back to the Bunker by himself in less than a week. Not to mention the fact that Crowley had flashed his red eyes at the Winchesters upon his return to the Bunker.

It wasn't like Sam and Dean could stop Jack from keeping the dog, and if that meant having to put up with Crowley, that was their problem – not that they could do anything about it.

"Shelter can handle herself if need be," Castiel answered for Jack, redirecting the older Winchester's frustration for the moment. "I think it would be a good experience for Lucifer besides."

"How?" Sam inquired before Dean could start raving about how it was all a bad idea.

Jack let out a sigh, knowing that this would take several attempts of explanation before the brothers finally understood. "Lucifer wanted to stay because he's trying to redeem himself to me, in his own roundabout way. I'm pretty sure he's also fulfilling some kind of debt… He still feels pretty bad about killing Gabriel, and when he found out who Shelter's dad was…"

Sam and Dean shared a look and relented on the subject ( _for now_ ). Jack paused in Crowley's petting, which made the dog look up and glare at him, when the look continued as the brothers debated something else as well. Resuming his task, Jack glanced over at Castiel, who was also watching Sam and Dean's private conversation.

Finally, Dean made a rather frustrated noise, which Crowley's ears perked up at. Sam gave his brother a hard look, and Dean threw up his hands, running them down his face before meeting Jack's eyes. "About that… While you two were away, we got a distress signal of sorts, and when we went to check it out, well, we found someone..."

Jack frowned. Was this person why Mary wasn't there to welcome him and Castiel back? Before Jack could ask who, the Bunker's lights went out, only to be replaced with multicolored strobes lights and as well as one that pointed directly at a disco ball that had suddenly appeared, hanging from the ceiling. Jack faintly noticed the lewd music playing in the background, but his attention was more latched onto Dean's subsequent shout:

"Dammit, Gabriel!"

* * *

 **A/N: So like… this was a bit shorter, and then S13x17 happened. You can guess what I added. (And by the way, yes, more than a week passed between the time Jack and Cas left the Bunker and when they returned from the universe visiting.) One chapter left folks…**

Last Edited: [6/23/19]


	11. A Better Place

**A Better Place**

It was a rather beautiful day in Lebanon, Kansas. The Sun was out, blocked only by the occasional passing cloud, and the weather was fair. The place was nice, too – a small clearing in the woods that stretched for miles within the land that the Men of Letter's Bunker was situated under.

Maybe one day someone would come across the three headstones that stood proudly beneath the branches of a massive juniper tree. There were no bodies that lay in the ground, but once upon a time, ashes had been scattered in the wind as each stone found a home amongst the roots of the tree. It had been a long time since anyone had visited those headstones. Almost a hundred years, in fact. Most would have thought the woods would be cleared out by now to make room for new housing or some such excuse, but something kept the chainsaws and real estate agents away. So, no, neither the woods nor the headstones were going anywhere anytime soon.

Many memories sang here. Not necessarily in the way that one would consider the clearing being haunted, but at the same time, one might say that the echoing stories of those remembered here could be heard just as easily as one might hear a friend calling from across the room. On the occasion that someone did happen to stumble upon the clearing, he or she might think themselves going crazy for hearing someone shouting " _bitch!_ " at the muttering of " _jerk_ " and the subsequent fond sigh of " _children_ ".

But those curious souls would not find the clearing for another several decades yet. By then… well, none from _now_ need to know what happens that far into the future.

Jack smiled at the thought, placing a hand on Mary's headstone. She would have reminded him to not think so far ahead when there was so much to do here and now. Dean would have just given him a look and then rolled his eyes while Sam said something similar to Mary's statement. They may have been long gone by now – their souls resting in Heaven – but never would they be forgotten.

Oh, how Jack missed his human family. He had made many friends since they had died, but none had been able to come close to what Jack had shared with the Winchesters. With a knowing heart and steady presence, Castiel had helped Jack with his grief at each passing.

Kneeling down in the grass, Jack moved to place a hand on both Sam and Dean's markers next. The brothers had fought so hard to not be the one to lose the other first. In the end, they had left Earth together. Jack remembered that day just as clearly as he did the many days that had been filled with their smiles and laughter.

The nephilim wasn't sure how long it would be until he saw them again – whether that be in Heaven or here in this clearing. He had made a promise to each of them that he wouldn't let himself be too distraught if that time never came to pass. That was why he had to come here. He had made it clear to his angelic guardians that he wouldn't leave until he made his goodbyes. For now at least, he had the reassuring feeling that he would come back one day.

"Ya good over there, kiddo?" a carefree yet faintly concerned voice called from across the clearing.

Another, deeper and more gravelly, voice reprimanded the other at a softer volume, though Jack had a pretty good idea of what Castiel was saying.

"What?" the first exclaimed, sounding like a child that had been slapped on the wrist for no good reason. To be fair, the archangel wasn't the most patient of beings despite his technical status as a saint.

Jack's smile turned into an amused grin as he heard Castiel grumble at pouting Gabriel. He stood and looked back at the two, who were more or less bickering now. Running a hand once more over the headstones, Jack cast one last glace to the names of his family.

"It's the end of a wonderful chapter, but there's still a whole book left to go," he whispered to the souls, who would hear his message where they were in their heavens.

 _The time had come for them to come together. The Cosmic Entity had awoken, and It was not happy. This was not a task that could be left to the hands of the Light or His children, nor could the Darkness hope to fight It in Its domain of Void – for in a Void there could be no Light, no Darkness, no Balance._

Jack let his hands fall back to his sides. It was time to go.

 _Truly, it was none of their faults, though it was a culmination of all their actions that woke the (metaphorical) slumbering beast. And it was their responsibility – not simply to protect only their universes – to defend all that was, both the Light and Darkness. For they were the children of All._

"I can't wait to meet everyone. You talk so much about them. I have at least five pranks ready for each—"

"No, Gabriel."

"Aw, Cassie, you know better than to say that," the archangel chastised the angel with a mocking finger wave.

 _They would meet in Guinevere's universe. She was the only reported child of Michael. The others were born more commonly of Gabriel, Raphael and Lucifer or archangels that Jack hadn't heard of before Shirou told him of them._

Jack rolled his eyes at his uncle. He and Castiel were both still a bit worried over how well Gabriel might take meeting Lucifer again, but Gabriel had brushed them off, rather pointedly putting his foot down after they began to get ridiculous (or so Gabriel had said). Later, Castiel had pulled Gabriel over for one last heart-to-heart. Jack knew that Gabriel had finally conceded that the thought of seeing his older brother scared the ever-loving crap out of him, but he also wasn't about to miss out on this – it wasn't every lifetime that you got to witness a bunch of archangels' kids join together to take on an Overpowered Big-Bad (again, his words).

 _Shirou had agreed to keep an eye on the known nephilim and inform them of the plan. He also offered to look for others and help them get to the rendezvous point, admitting that he had plenty of free time to do so. He then reminded Jack how time worked differently across the Nexus. The portals they could create ripped through both space_ and _time._

 _"Take as long as you need," Shirou had told him._

"Let's get this show on the road!" Gabriel practically demanded, only to let out an un-archangelic yelp at his leg being attacked.

Seeing his dog gnawing on Gabriel's pants, Jack shook his head. Crowley was perhaps the only other constant in Jack's life. The demon had settled into his role early on and was rather content with it, especially considering that the other option had been death. He had found that he didn't need an actual voice to get his point across most of the time. As Gabriel lost his shoe and let out an indignant squawk, Jack could see how that had been proven correct.

"Crowley, give Uncle his shoe back."

The demon dog just walked over to Castiel's side and regally sat down with Gabriel's shoe still firmly trapped in his jaw. Jack really shouldn't have expected any better. Gabriel huffed and snapped another shoe into existence, making a show of putting it on, all the while muttering evil things about Boston Terriers with red eyes.

"Ready to go?" Jack asked Castiel, favoring to ignore his uncle's antics.

 _Jack hadn't met any of his other 'cousins' besides Gwen, Shirou and Shelter yet. It had been another of Shirou's impressions, part of living with his family for as long as he could. He'd insisted that Jack would have plenty of time to meet the others when the time came._

 _Still, from his visions Jack knew that there was a pair of twins, Evangeline and Alexander. They had grown up with their father – Raphael – and were especially talented in the matters of the mind (Evan) and body (Alex). There was also Jason, who was more or less the complete opposite of Jack yet took a liking to him despite being from what was essentially a mirror version of Jack's universe. Eri was a bit odd, even by nephilim standards, and Jack wasn't quite sure whom their sire was… Abigail made doubly sure that everyone knew who her father was. She wasn't necessarily as obnoxious as her father could be, but she had certainly inherited his personality along with the reality-bending talents that came with being a child of Gabriel._

"As I'll ever be," his father answered, bending down to pick up Crowley, who spat out Gabriel's old shoe.

The dog let out a huff, twitching his ears. _Just waiting on you, birdie._

Jack reached over and scratched behind the dog's ears, earning a pleased _woof_. Then Jack moved a distance away from his family, steadily drawing on the power that he'd been storing in the clearing. It wasn't as much as he would have gotten from a ley line, but it would have to do. Besides, he was far stronger and more in control of his powers since he'd last ripped through space-time in order to travel through the Nexus.

 _There was one thing that his uncle was on the same page with Jack about: Lucifer. Jack wasn't nearly as nervous as Gabriel was, but at the same time, Jack couldn't help but feel something in his chest twist at his sire's mention. Castiel was his father, and it hadn't taken long for Gabriel to claim the title of uncle. (Sam and Dean had been the best of brothers, and Mary was as close to a second mother as Jack was going to get.)_

 _Jack didn't know what to think about Lucifer anymore, not after he'd left the archangel with Shelter._

 _In a way, he really did hope that Lucifer had figured it all out._

By the time Jack stepped through the portal he'd made, ensuring that it closed behind him, Castiel had already gotten onto Gabriel for something or another. They had already talked about this with him too. Gabriel was one of a select few archangels that would be joining the Nephilim on their daunting task.

But they would do it. They were stronger together than apart. Even if it took a while to get used to one another, they all knew they would end up working together in a certain kind of harmony that couldn't be achieved any other way.

They were a family. A very strange one – with cousins and sisters and brothers and parents and uncles and aunts from everywhere – but they were each as close as close could be. No matter how different or strange they were, they could still relate to one another.

(It didn't matter to Jack what the rest of the universes thought of them. They were perfect enough for him.)

(This was his paradise.)

* * *

 **A/N: Shortest one of them all, but it was also kind of an epilogue. (Oh, stop your crying; you already knew it was ending). But really, this was fun, if a bit a long haul. I wouldn't have it any other way XD**

Last Edited: [6/23/2019]

* * *

 **lone ranger22:** Thanks! And it was a long time after they'd died too. Even if they had died of old age, this chapter was at least a hundred years afterwards.


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